Chapter 2: Translation And Interpretation Issues

Introduction

Incorrect translations to support the Trinity and pre-existence of Jesus 

In 1526, William Tyndale completed the translation of the first English New Testament, which caused a great change in the religious life. Until then, the Bible was in Latin and used only for the clergy. The Reformation stirred Europe in the 16th century. Bibles began to be delivered in languages other than Latin. What was the benefit of it when 80% of the population were illiterate? People gathered together, read together the Bible in the vernacular – no longer in Latin, which no ordinary people understood, although many thought that it was God’s language and the prayers in Latin were readily heard by God. Tyndale had to pay for his courage, and he was burned in the stake. Luther and the other reformists drew the distinction from the papal power. But Luther did not want just anyone to explain the Word, especially if they did not have the authorization to do so.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared. The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants.

In this article, I will study some Bible points that have been translated incorrectly. When I wonder why those verses have been translated this way, the reason may be that:
– They are really misunderstood, or
– They were well understood, but it would have been against the existing doctrine, so they were translated into the doctrinal content

The translations are clearly tendentious; Jesus is to be seen as a God who has been with God the Father in heaven and created the world from God’s commission. These two attributes of Jesus are linked together: Jesus cannot be God without being pre-existent in heaven, and the other way round; Jesus cannot be pre-existent in heaven without being God. There is no known man in heaven until God took Jesus to him and raised him above all those in heaven and on earth.

Countless, or at least hundreds, of mistranslated verses have been corrected for many translations. The problem is that the instilled false doctrines during the centuries have been fruitful; even if the errors have been corrected, the incorrect message itself has not been rectified. Perhaps you are willing to admit that in these and perhaps in some other points, the Bible translation is still wrong. Do you think that people, after having known it, reject the false doctrine such as Jesus’ pre-existence or deity, which are based on incorrect translation?

I can tell you that this is hardly the case. In various Bible circles, incorrect translations are introduced and corrections are presented for deaf ears! The learned attitudes and perceptions of people are not altered with the correct information. To the person who tells the truth will be answered: “Who do you think you are? Do you even have any theological degree?” “There could be some truth in what you say, but that is how I have believed my whole life.” “What denomination do you really belong to?” And so on…

In these articles, I think of the translation and interpretation issues based on some of the Bible’s examples. Some of these are relevant because they have been raised among the most important evidence e.g. of the Trinity doctrine.

and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 The 2:10).

Why should people read the Bible and study and reflect on its message? Many will never open the Bible, even if it is in the bookshelf. This is a matter of serious concern, about human salvation. The Thessaloniki letter proves that those people who do not love the truth are going to perish. How can truth be loved if you do not know what the truth is? Love for truth means a burning desire to know what God is saying to us. As you read the Bible, its message about key issues are clearly revealed. There are also many difficult things written in the Bible, and the language can be old. The more you read and think, the more work and effort is required. You have to think about the true meaning of words. Is the word translated correctly from the original language? If that is correct, what does it actually mean? Sometimes, disbelief occupies your mind, and you are no longer certain how to believe a doctrine that already seemed to you to be clear. Many assume that the wise men of the Church have clarified these things.

In inspiring Bible Scriptures by the prophets or the apostles, God has surely seen that the writings will lead to different doctrines and dispersion of churches. I remember reading that there are some thirty thousand Christian denominations today. Certainly, God could have formulated his message so that there would be no need for any interpretation. Why, then, did He not do so, but allowed his prophets and apostles to write such difficult script? Part of the Bible’s message is quite simple and completely clear text that can be understood by one reading. For many, it is enough to build faith. Someone else studies the difficult questions of the Bible for years to find out the secrets of divinity.

To start with, I will examine the question of the crown of righteousness, the crown of life, and eternal life. Eternal life is known to everyone, but what about the crown of righteousness or the crown of life. Even after these two have been given a definition, open questions remain. I talked with a member of a religious denomination, but we did not reach a consensus. He could not admit that Paul promises in the verse (2 Tim 4: 8) the same prize (crown of life) as that which he himself believes to receive. This was due to the fact that these representatives of this religious community firmly believe that only 144,000 people (consisting of members of their own community) receive such a prize. If the number would be higher, their doctrine would lose its meaning. Similar examples are innumerable. If you are a Trinitarian or a Catholic, you will certainly interpret some Scriptures differently than I do. So approach the Scripture with an open mind and with love for truth.

 

2 Tim 4:8 From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.

Jam 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.

Rev 2:10: Don’t be afraid of what you are going to suffer. Look! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested. For ten days you will undergo suffering. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the victor’s crown of life.

Tit 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before eternal times; (ἐλπίδι ζωῆς αἰωνίου ἣν ἐπηγγείλατο)

Jhn 5:26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;” 1 Jhn 5:11 The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Does Paul promise, on the basis of Paul 2 Tim 4:8, anything other than eternal life, that is, access to the kingdom of God? Who is meant when talking about all? My friend, a Jehovah’s Witness, was 100 percent sure that all of these cannot enter the kingdom of God. They are the only ones rewarded with eternal life. Only the 144,000 chosen Jehovah’s Witnesses are allowed to enter the kingdom of God. So we came to a different view, because in my opinion, access to God’s kingdom and especially salvation is not limited to members of any organization.

In Timothy’s letter, Paul speaks of the crown of righteousness which he says will be received on the day of the resurrection. Paul also states that the same reward (crown) is also available to all those who love Jesus’ coming – parousia. The verses revealed that the resurrected ones will receive eternal life on the day of resurrection. What else do they get? They get a high position in the kingdom of God, i.e. they will rule together with Jesus Christ.

This is how I interpret the concepts of the crown of righteousness and the crown of life. The English translation speaks of crown, which refers to the government, to rule. λοιπὸν ἀπόκειτα μοι ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης στέφανος Loipon apokeitai moi ho tes dikaiosynes Stephanos. Strongs define the word Stephanos: that which surrounds, i.e. a crown, garland, Honor, Glory. – In the covenant and in many other places we speak only of eternal (αἰωνίου) life. This is why I think Paul means wreaths (or crown) of righteousness for something more than just eternal life. If Paul intended to have eternal life in the aforementioned verse, he could have used the same phrase as in many other verses is used for this purpose.

According to the Bible, those who are eligible for the first resurrection will rule the kingdom of God together with Jesus: Rev 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were over. This is the first resurrection.

6 How blessed and holy are those who participate in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them. They will be priests of God and Christ and will rule with him for a thousand years.

Of these verses of the Revelation we can conclude the following:

In verse 20:4, we speak of those who, in the first resurrection, have come to life; they received eternal life, the life where death no longer has power. They were people who either had been executed for Jesus’ sake, or else they were faithful to the word of God and had not bowed to the beast or took the mark on their foreheads or hands. In verse 20:5, it is spoken of the other dead: they did not live until the end of the thousand-year reign, when there was a general judgment on all. Then they shall rise up as, both the righteous as well as the ungodly. The participants of the first resurrection are according to verse 20: 6 Blessed and holy, because they can no longer die. They are therefore immortal priests of God and Christ, who together with Christ shall rule the kingdom of God for a thousand years (The Millennial kingdom).

 

Many scholars have pointed out that our western Bible scholars do not adequately take into account our translations that the Jews thought and also wrote in some ways different than we do. This should also be explored more, but I will point out one fact that has appeared several times and initially caused me some confusion.

NT may use upcoming events to indicate that the event has already taken place. It emphasizes the certainty of the declaration; it is definitely going to happen. A few examples of such expressions:

Jhn 17:22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, so that they may be one, just as we are one.

In his prayer to the Father, Jesus says in verse 22 that he has given his believers the glory he has received from His Father. So: “I have given”, although this is still far in the future, but it is in such a way so certain that it can already be considered to have been given.

Jhn 3:13 KJV And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. – Here Jesus speaks to Pharisee Nicodemus. Jesus uses the word “the Son of Man who is in heaven,” but Jesus was not even crucified yet.

2 Cor 5:1 For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.
When Paul writes that they have an abode of God, he means that they have a promise of such a thing. The fact that in the word of the Bible there is a question of a promise to be later fulfilled, is clearly apparent from Jhn 5:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes Him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come in judgment, but has passed out of death into life”.

– Another important promise is that such a believer does not have to be judged. If a person does not have to be judged, it means that he has received an eternal life on which the second death does not have power. It, on the other hand, means that a human being becomes part of the first resurrection and becomes subject to Jesus to govern the earth together with other saints. How is it possible that this group will not be condemned by the final judgment as the Bible says – together with the world? That’s what I write about in Chapter 7, The Last Judgment. We can only guess how many such people there have been in the past two thousand years. The question is of the so-called “little flock”, but it does not have to be limited to 144,000 (in my interpretation).

Col 1:13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and has brought us into the kingdom of the Son whom he loves.

When writing to Colossians, the apostle Paul was still firmly on earth and had not moved to the kingdom of God under the kingdom of Christ. This has been interpreted as definite promise, which, however, is conditional. When a Christian becomes a child of God and receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, he will become chosen at the same time. Being chosen is, however, conditional; it requires that the chosen one remains in faith until the end. We know in the Bible at the end of time … Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect (Mat 24:14)

 

Was Jesus in heaven before his birth on earth? Many believe in the pre-existence of Jesus and in his divinity.

Phl 2:7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.

8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yes, the death of the cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name;

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,

11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These verses in the Philippians -letter are used to prove that Jesus emptied God’s omnipotence and reduced himself to a normal human being. When he humbly obeyed the Father’s assignment to him, until the cross, the Father made him as Acts 2:36 says to the Lord and Christ. But something here is contradictory. Jesus Christ, though exalted (Phl 2:9) above all creatures, is subordinate and submissive to God the Father. This “promotion” then, does not make Him any higher compared even with the former position of Jesus in heaven; this conclusion, provided that Jesus has been pre-existent in heaven before coming to earth. According to the decision of the synod and according to Athanasius’s creed, the Almighty God consists of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God is one that has always been and always will be. If therefore, Jesus too is the Almighty God, He has always been. He has always been almighty. Hence, He cannot be exalted as He is God! Instead, God the Father was able to raise the man Jesus above of all creation (all angels and all humans -all of them being created). – It seems to me that God exalted Jesus above all creation. The synod exalted Jesus to be God.

1 Cor 10:4 …”the rock was Christ”

The pre-existence of Jesus has attempted to be proven, for example with verse 1 Cor. 10:4. Many see this verse as proof that Christ had lived during Moses’ time and participated in the desert with the Israeli people, as a spiritual rock of the people.

Exo 13:21-22 “The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.”

Exo 14:19 The angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them, and stood behind them.

1 Cor 10:1 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the fact that all of our ancestors were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea,

2 and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 and all ate the same spiritual food;

4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

Exodus tells about the people of Israel, their long peregrination in the wilderness after their Egyptian slavery. The Lord (or the angel of the Lord) led them in daytime from the pillar of the cloud and at night by the pillar of fire. Then it is told that the cloud moved behind them. Who is this angel of God? Dan 10:21 says: But I will tell you that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none who holds with me against these, but Michael your prince. According to Daniel, Michael is one of the first angel princes and he is also “your”, i.e. Israel’s protective and guiding angel.

In 1 Corinthians Paul writes: they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.  – This is how many Bible scholars think that Christ acted as a spiritual leader, the rock of Israel. Some have drawn such a far-reaching conclusion that Jesus Christ is, according to this description, the God of the Old Testament, Jehovah.

I do not believe in such conclusions. It is clear from the Bible that Christ has not spoken to the people of Israel in the past, during Israel’s peregrination, but only in later times; Heb 1:1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

– The Hebrews verse testifies to us that Jesus did not speak to Israel “long ago” as in Moses’s time. If Jesus did not speak to the fathers in ancient times, he could not have acted at that time as the spiritual support or as the rock of the Israeli people. During the time in the wilderness, Moses was the leader of the people of Israel and the prophet of God. What does Paul mean by saying that the spiritual rock was Christ? Maybe it was a promise of the future; the people drank water from the spiritual rock. Rev 21: 6 states … I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give a drink from the spring of the water of life to the one who is thirsty.

 

Is Jesus God? The Bible says: … yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom everything came into being and for whom we live. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything came into being and through whom we live. (1 Cor 8:6).

This powerful Corinthians statement is a good thing to keep in mind when considering the deity of the Son or the Holy Ghost on the basis of another Bible verse. When it is generally accepted principle that the Bible cannot contradict itself, the one who accepts the divinity of the Son or the Holy Ghost should give an explanation for this verse1 Cor 8:6; ..”for us there is but one God, the Father” – once again: there is but one God, the father.

 

What did Jesus say about his relationship with God the Father?

JESUS ANSWERED, “THE FOREMOST IS, HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; (Mar 12:29)
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! (Deut 6:4)

Jesus confirmed the confession of faith of Israel, word for word. If, during the time of Jesus and the apostles, someone had even tried to explain God to consist of three God persons, God the Father, (Jehovah), in addition to two other God persons, such a man might well have become stoned for blasphemy. John tells in his gospel how the Jews were going to stone Jesus for this very reason. Jesus, however, told the listeners what they actually knew; a man can be called god too if the word of God has come to him and he is acting on behalf of God, as Jesus was. Jesus does not anywhere in the Bible claim to be God or to be one of the persons of the Triune God. Instead, he acknowledged that he was the Son of God.

Jhn 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

30 I and the Father are one.

31 The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

32 Jesus answered them, I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?

33 The Jews answered him, We are not going to stone you for a good work but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, are making yourself God!

34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods?

35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken)

36 how can you say to the one whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe me;

38 But if I do them, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.

1 Tim 3:16 Am.Std. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; [1] He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the [2] nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. [1) The word God, in place of He who rests on no sufficient ancient evidence. Some ancient authorities read which 2) Or Gentiles ]

This is a very meaningful verse; it is not at all inconsequential whether it was God who has appeared in the flesh, or only a man – “he who”. If the correct translation is God, it would mean that Jesus is the God who has appeared in the flesh. The Catholic manuscript Vatican MS for an understandable reason wants to interpret this “God who appeared in the flesh …” but Alexandrian MS instead interpreted it as “He who …” Which one is right? There is a tiny difference between the writing of the two texts.

Panin explained the matter using the Bible numerics, and noted that the following version implements the code correctly: 16 And confessedly great is the mystery of: godliness; Who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory. (NENT) – ‘Who was’ is the right translation. This verse does not testify for or against the divinity of Jesus.

 

What does ‘Lord’ mean in the Bible?

Many people are under the impression that the name often used in the Bible, ‘Lord’ means God. As the word Lord has been used equally of Jesus and of God the Father, the conclusion is drawn that Jesus is also God. In addition to the Lord, the word Saviour is also referred both to the Father and the Son. Also, the Redeemer is spoken of in the Bible. How can we know what these titles mean? Do they describe both the Father as well as his Son?

When the Old Testament speaks of God the Father the word Lord is often used. In general, however, God is called Lord God or by using God’s proper name Jehovah (Yĕhovah ‘elohiym).

The OT speaks of the Redeemer in several places. NT does not use Redeemer when speaking of Christ. Isa 63:16 For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; You, Jehovah, are our Father, our Redeemer; Your name is from Everlasting. Isa 60:16 … Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour and Your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. – Although this verse says that the name of God is from the beginning of times the Redeemer, it is not the proper name of God.

The Old Testament and the New Testament speak of the Saviour. 2 Pet 1:11 “for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” – This eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ means the Kingdom of God, the king of which Christ is. Christ is also the king of the coming Millennial kingdom. After the thousand years have passed, Christ will hand over the power back to God the Father.

2 Pet 3:18 “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen,”

In two of the above verses of 2 Peter, he speaks of the grace “of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” and the eternal kingdom. Jesus offers believers salvation through faith, and he redeems us from the curse of sin. Otherwise, the interpretation often goes wrong in the fact that our Lord does not mean God. Jesus is our Lord and our Saviour / Redeemer. Act 2:36 proves it: “Let all the house of Israel, therefore, know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

Remember what the Bible says: … the head of Christ is God. (1 Cor 11: 3)

 

Lord in the New Testament, Kyrios

Mat 20:30 Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” 31 The multitude rebuked them, telling them that they should be quiet, but they cried out even more, “Lord, have mercy on us, you son of David!” Ἰησοῦς παράγει ἔκραξαν λέγοντες Ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς κύριε υἱὸς Δαβίδ (Textus Receptus)
32 Jesus stood still, and called them, and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 They told him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”

One cannot think that during Jesus’ time two blind men thought when Jesus was passing by that it was God who was passing by. They had probably heard of the healer named Jesus. They also spoke of Jesus as the son of David, which they would never have used for God.

When the Bible speaks of the Lord, the word is Kyrios. Kyrios can also be a landlord or some other earthly lord. The word is used of Jesus and of God the Father. How can we know which Lord is in question?

Mat 22:37 NASB: And He [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” ¬– Here Jesus is talking about Lord God, ”Kyrios sy Theos”, κύριος σύ θεός. He is by no means speaking of himself as God, who should be loved.

What word did the disciples use for Jesus, their Master, and teacher? Mat 8:25 The disciples came to him, and woke him up, saying, “Save us, Lord (Kyrios)! We are dying!” σῴζω κύριος ἀπόλλυμι, sōzō kyrios apollymi.

Has God raised Jesus as Lord and God? Act 2:36 “Let all the house of Israel, therefore, know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ (κύριος Χριστός, kyrios Christos), this Jesus whom you crucified.” Please note: Lord and Christ, not Lord God i.e. Kyrios theos.

Jesus’ titles are Lord and Christ, or Messiah, which means anointed. Wikipedia says: Ha Mashiach (המשיח, “the Messiah”, “the anointed one”), often referred to as melekh Mashiach (מלך המשיח “King Messiah”), is to be a human leader, physically descended from the paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon. He is thought to accomplish predetermined things in only one future arrival, including the unification of the tribes of Israel, the gathering of all Jews to Eretz Israel, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the ushering in of a Messianic Age of global universal peace, and the annunciation of the world to come

 

What did Jesus teach?

Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, “It is also written, ‘You must not tempt the Lord your God.” 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.”
22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Jesus called God the Father Lord your God (Kyrios sy Theos); He is the only one to be worshiped and served as God.
Some internet sites and mainstream churches condemn those who believe otherwise: “Now it is clear that God is triune, and those who do not acknowledge the God of the Bible are servants of idolatry, the deniers of the triune God are not Christians. They serve another god, as the Bible tells us. The part of the servants of is eternal perdition, hell!”

In fact, I think that if you are mistaken you will be forgiven if you have earnestly searched for the truth.

Luk 6:37 says: Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

 

Jesus – God or Man?

Those who defend the deity of Jesus, please answer the following questions:
– God the Father raised Jesus as Lord and Christ as he ascended up to heaven; how can God be raised? The Lord and Christ rank in fact lower than God.

– God has always existed and always will. How is it then possible that Jesus did not have eternal life before God granted it to him?
– Jesus Himself confessed that he has a God. How could God have a God?

– Jesus is a mediator between God and men. Why then does the Bible say that the mediator is a human being?

– God cannot die; how could Jesus die? Why did God the Father have to awaken him from the dead – why did not Jesus himself awaken himself? Or do you believe that Jesus did not really die? Or that only his human nature died, but not his divine nature?
– Why did Jesus never say that he is God? Why it took about 300 years before the Catholic Church recognized Jesus as God.

– Why did Jesus pray to God if he himself was the Almighty? Why did he admit that the Father is greater than that?

– God is all-knowing; Jesus admitted that he did not know everything, not even the time of his second coming. It is only known to the Father. Is not Jesus omniscient God?

– 1 Cor 15:28 When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all. – This verse relates to the time in the future when the millennial reign of Christ has completed its mission and the final judgment has been executed. All evil has been removed and eternal peace of God prevails. Then, the kingship of Jesus ends and he accepts his new role as God’s High Priest, so that God [the Father] may be all in all.

The High Priest is certainly an important post in the coming Kingdom of God, but it is different from God Himself. We also see that God the Father is alone God and he is all in all.

God (the Father) is one. Yet, Elohiym is a plural form, why? What does it mean in the Christian concept of God? When God created the earth, the Spirit of God, who is his executive power, moved on earth. However, the Holy Spirit of God is not, as Athanasius once defined, equal with God the Father. God sends his spirit to do the will expressed by God’s word. Jesus Christ, whom God has made as Lord and Christ, is the Son born of God, a human being and the mediator between man and God. God has raised him to sit on God’s right-hand side on the throne of heaven. Jesus uses all the power of God, including the judgment of the coming world.

 

My righteous servant

The following verses 11 and 12 from chapter 53 are familiar descriptions of Jesus Christ.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah wrote this description about Christ which he had received from God about 700 years before Jesus’ birth. In verse 11 my attention is attached to the description of Christ as the righteous servant of God. Jesus is not described as God, not as a Son of God, but as a servant of God. Equally significant is the characterization of Jesus’ reward in verse 12.

When examining different translations of verse 12, one cannot help but wonder how differently it has been interpreted and translated.

This can not be the case of Christ’s rewarding the mighty rulers of the earth who would divide the booty of Christ’s victory. No, Christ will not come to earth for the second time to make war and get spoil. Christ is rewarded because he abandoned his life for death due to an unfair judgment. It is, in my opinion, a reward and a position, not of spoil as a result of successful warfare. Luther is right in that sense that Christ’s “catch” is the people who have received salvation. Christ will divide the booty with the strong; Christ comes to the earth with God’s angelic army and with his saints and attacks Satan’s forces. ‘Catch’ is obtained, for example, a so-called great multitude, consisting of humans who have repented, and this multitude of people is so great that it cannot be counted.

What is meant by “giving a portion (bârabbı̄m) with the great” is clearly seen from such passages as Isaiah 52:15; Isaiah 49:7, according to which the great rulers of the earth will be brought to do homage and worship Him.

There are interpretations of this kind in which ‘portion with the great ones’ are seen only as respect and homage of the great rulers of the world. But Jesus will not come back for the glory of the kings of the earth! He will be the King of Kings himself and submit all kingdoms and kings under his power.

So what is meant by ‘portion with the great’? Who are these great ones? Of course, God himself decides for it, but I can imagine that among them is his friend Abraham, also King David, who was a man after God’s heart, etc. The righteous servant of God, his Son born a man, receives his share in this company. Christ establishes the Millennium kingdom of peace and rules it together with the saints.

In fact, I see the role of Jesus includes not only the kingship but also priesthood. When the Millennial kingdom is over, death has been overthrown and Satan and the unrighteous have been thrown into the lake of fire, only the righteous servants of God are left and Jesus is their high priest according to Melchizedek.

 

Jesus Christ – the Mediator

For God is one, also there is one Mediator of God and of men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5)

How do we analyze this Bible verse? It begins in the same way as 1 Corinthians 8:6, which says: for us, there is only one God, the Father… And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ…

Both verses are, in my opinion, unambiguous. Our God is one and only. Him we can call the Father – he is our Creator Rom 8:15 …” you have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba!” 16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God. The verse in the letter to Timothy continues with the statement: there is one Mediator of God and of men, the Man Christ Jesus. In Timothy’s letter Paul speaks about the mediator, in his letter to the Corinthians, he assures us that we have one Lord. So, we have one God the Father AND one Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ are therefore separate persons. God is the Father and Jesus Christ is the Lord; two different persons and two different dignities.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, Christ is assigned a new task; he is the mediator between people and God. The actual bomb will come at the very end; Jesus Christ is a man! He was a human on earth, we all know and believe it. Does Paul mean that Jesus would have remained a human being after his death, after his resurrection and even after his ascending into heaven?

Does that mean the Bible is saying that Jesus was the mediator only while on earth? However, I cannot accept such a time limit for his role as an intermediary. On the contrary, I firmly believe that Jesus speaks for us also in heaven. So assures to you 1 Joh 2:1 My little children, I write these things to you so that you do not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

This letter of Paul was written at the turn of the 50s and 60s, about three decades after Christ’s ascension. Paul, like the rest of the apostles, had at this stage formed a common understanding about the future role of Jesus. Jesus was on the earth forty days before his ascension, and during this time he certainly gave his disciples, effective guidance of their duties. It is inconceivable that the apostles would be sent to carry to the world the gospel that would include false information about Jesus.

Was Jesus then recognized as God? Apostle Thomas said to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Why does Paul then explain that Jesus Christ is a human being? Did not the Apostles have become clear about the divinity of Jesus? Although Paul was not an actual Apostle, he had, however, received the task from Jesus himself on the way to Damascus. Paul was an apostle of the Gentiles; …”I have made you a light to the Gentiles to be the means of salvation to the very ends of the earth” (Act 13:47). Jesus would not have allowed Paul to convey false information, such as that Jesus is only a man, though he is the mediator between people and God.

Second, from this statement of Jesus acting as a mediator between people and God, we can draw the conclusion; the Mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary and the saints of the Church, who have been raised by the Catholic Church as mediators, are false mediators. All of these are dead and “the dead do not know anything” (Ecc 9:5).

There is an old doctrine of two natures of Jesus developed by the Catholic church fathers. According to this, Jesus is both God and man. If so, I could understand the idea that Jesus was a man on earth and turned back to God as he ascended into heaven. However, I do not support this doctrine.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:50: “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Some may comment on this encouraging statement, saying that Jesus was talking as a human. And now that Jesus is in heaven? If he is God, does he acknowledge, according to his promise, that the people fulfilling the will of God are his brothers? Or is Jesus in heaven a man, albeit in the spirit body?

1 Joh 3:2 Dear friends, we are now God’s children, but what we will be like has not been revealed yet. We know that when Christ is revealed we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.

 

NAS “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

NENT “God no one hath ever seen; an only begotten, himself God, who is unto the bosom of the Father, HE hath declared him.”

KJV 1789 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”

This is a difficult case to translate. NAS speaks of the divinity of Jesus in this verse by calling Jesus the only begotten God. Also, NENT adds the words “himself God”. Where has Panin found such an amendment for the NENT translation? KJV 1789, on the other hand, does not add to Jesus any mention of divinity; he is merely the ’only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father’. Westcott-Hort and other similar editions of the Greek Bible have been available to everyone since 1881.

When NENT adds the words ‘himself God’, one can ask where a skilled Greek language expert has found the capital G in the word God? Panin’s numeric code does not change depending on whether it’s God or god. The Greek original text is either all words in capital letters (majuscule) or lower case letters (minuscule). Jesus is in any case, GOD. Father God made him above all creation and God himself called his Son ‘GOD’ (Heb. 1: 8). The use of a great initial letter implies that Jesus would be part of the Triune God, that he is Almighty God together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. However, on the basis of one verse, I would not go so far as to make such an interpretation.

Heb 1:8-9

The next verse is considered to be a sure proof that Jesus is God:

8 But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter. – But immediately afterward it is said that Jesus also has God:

9 You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.”

Is it really meant that God in this verse has capital G? You remember in Greek language writing, all were first written in capital letters and there was no punctuation. Later also lower case letters were used. This verse is also word for word as Psa 45:7, in which the words are addressed to King Solomon, who was “a god with a little g”. From verse 9 we get additional support for Jesus being a god; God, your God … tells us that Jesus had God. When Jesus had God, he himself could not have been  God of the same rank. Jesus would be king of Israel, the Messiah, just like Salomon was anointed king of Israel in his time. Jesus, however, will be king of the whole world, and his subjects are Israelites of the God of Israel, Christians from all over the world.

My conclusion is that Jesus was not God from the beginning, but God the Father has exalted his Son to a high divine position to be above all heaven’s angels and all men on earth and given him all the power. He is sitting on God’s throne on his right side – In this respect, Jesus is so almighty that God has exalted Jesus above all creation. (All those who are created i.e. humans and angels).

1 Cor 15:24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power.

25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

27 For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him.

28 When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.

Jesus is the sovereign King of all creation, and the King of the Millennium kingdom. Thousand years after the first resurrection of the dead, there will be the second resurrection of judgment, in which everyone is condemned according to their deeds. After this Christ restores all power to God. Christ, however, will continue to be God’s high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

 

There are thousands of Trinitarian denominations in the world and a total of two billion members. It is therefore understandable that most of the biblical commentaries are written by Trinitarians.

Thus, there are three Gods which together form one God. Many texts offer two possibilities of interpretation, and the Trinitarians, according to their doctrine, interpret that there is an almighty God in Jesus’ form in certain verses. Take, for example, Proverbs chapter 8.

1 Does not wisdom cry out? Does not understanding raise her voice? 12 I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion. 22 Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old. 23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Before the earth existed. 24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled in place, Before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there; When he set a circle on the surface of the deep,
28 When he established the clouds above, When the springs of the deep became strong,
29 When he gave to the sea its boundary, That the waters should not violate his commandment, When he marked out the foundations of the earth;
30 Then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, Always rejoicing before him, 31 Rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men.

Although it can be said that Jesus, as a human being, became God’s Word. He preached the coming kingdom of God and did all what God told Him to do. Observe that Jesus became God’s word when He as a human being announced God’s will to mankind. It does not mean that he has been with God before the dawn of time except in God’s mind and plans. Jesus was God’s messenger to mankind in later times while the prophets delivered God’s word in OT times.

I believe that Jesus and His disciples were part of God’s foreknowledge at the beginning of time (1 Pet 1:1-2). In fact, when the Lord God alone created the material world with the power of His word, Jesus created the new world that is in many respects spiritual and will start when sin is purged from people.

Many are inclined to believe that Jesus had been created by God and lived in heaven already at the beginning of time. I personally think the correct interpretation is that Jesus was with God, but only in God’s thoughts and in His plans. So were also the apostles in God’s mind. But who believes that the apostles were in heaven with God and Jesus? What about the other God’s chosen ones?

 

1:1 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made.

However, there is a word order error here. The CLV Bible translation translates the verse correctly:  “In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word.” Textus Receptus shows the original wording: θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.

1 In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with :God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with :God. 3 All things became through him; and without him nothing became that had become. – Again we see that theologians change the meaning of the word logos by personalizing it with the word he, which refers to Jesus. ’Through him’, should be through his word. In the OT, however, Proverbs 3:19 tells: Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens.

1 Jhn 1:1 What existed from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life! 2 This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.  – What did the apostles watch? They watched the eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to the apostles.

1 Joh 1:1 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life; 1:2 This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us. – What did the apostles watch? They looked at the eternal life that was with the Father and appeared to the Apostles.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart. – The personalization of the Word of God to Jesus took place only in the 1500-1600 chapter; the KJV in 1611 changed the course. The earlier Bible texts uttered ’IT’ rather than ’He’, among others The Bishop’s Bible dating back to 1568.

2 Pet 3:5 But they deliberately ignore the fact that long ago the heavens existed and the earth was formed by God’s word out of water and with water,

The aforementioned few examples are just a small extract of the verses that show that everything is created by the power of the word (will) of God, not by Jesus. When God speaks His word), He expresses His thoughts (His plan). All that God says or wants, happens. The whole universe was created by the power of God’s word. Christ was creating a new world (the coming world era) by redeeming mankind from the burden of sin through his own death by crucifixion.

Prov 3:19 Jehovah founded the earth by wisdom; He founded the heavens by understanding; 20 By his knowledge, the depths were broken up, And the skies drop down the dew. Rev 4:11 Lord, you are worthy to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and through your will they exist and were created. – God created the world with His word. Isaiah, on the other hand, says that God created the world alone. Jesus Christ did not create the universe, but he has created a new world to come. Yet Jesus became God’s Word with His activity on earth.

 

The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word of God became flesh when Jesus was born and proclaimed to the world what God commanded him. Jesus is commonly described the Word of God. It seems right to me if it means that Jesus publicly proclaimed God’s Word, the most important of which would be the coming of the Kingdom of God and the salvation of the people. But that does not mean that Jesus was already the same as the Word before his birth.

God’s message of salvation became concrete:

1 Jhn 1:1-2 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life. 2 This life was revealed to us, and we have seen it and testify about it. We declare to you this eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us.

In AD 451 Chalkedon it was defined that Jesus has the nature of both God and man, so that He is completely God and completely human. This was largely influenced by the old Greek, Roman and Egyptian religions. The Pharaohs were gods, the Roman emperors proclaimed to be gods, and Paul and Barnabas together caused the people worship themselves and speak of them as gods who came down on earth as Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:11). The Greek idea of godhood then strengthened in Christianity and Christianity received its doctrinal content.

Next: What is the word?

Jesus is known as Logos – the Word of God. What is the Word?

Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states the following: (I) the expression of thought,” not the mere name of an object, (a) as embodying a conception or idea, (b) a saying or statement, (2) the phrase ”the word of the Lord,” i.e., the revealed will of God… it is the message from the Lord, delivered with His authority and made effective by His power

If the word is God, so is the opposite: God is the word. God is also wisdom. At this point, you should be careful when combining the meanings of words. God is also love, is it not? However, I do not think it is right to say that love is God. God is also light. But let’s not say that light is God.

In the original Greek text is not logos-word written with a capital letter; all the words were written without punctuation marks and all in either uppercase or all lowercase letters.

Jhn 1:14 ”The Word [logos λόγος] became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth”.   – Jesus proclaimed the Word of God and the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and carried out the will of God. Therefore, it is correct to say that the Word became flesh, but it does not mean that Jesus would have originally been the same as the word not to mention that he was God.

Rev 1:2 who [John] bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw.

Rev 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. They came back to life and ruled with Christ for a thousand years. – It should be noted that both of the two verses have kept separate the concepts of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ with the word.

According to the Strong’s lexicon, the word logos is defined as follows: λόγος lógos, log’-os; from G3004; something said (including the thought); by implication, a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive; by extension, a computation; especially, (with the article in John) the Divine Expression (i.e. Christ):—account, cause, communication, concerning, doctrine, fame, have to do, intent, matter, mouth, preaching, question, reason, reckon, remove, say(-ing), shew, speaker, speech, talk, thing, none of these things move me, tidings, treatise, utterance, word, work.

The Greek philosophers of the first centuries, however, began to give logos a divine meaning. As a result of their influence, the Catholic synod then exalted Jesus to God and, at a later stage, the Holy Spirit. This was how the doctrine of the triune God was formed. For Jesus, it was explained in Chalcedon’s synod that Jesus is both perfect God and perfect man.

For John, the word of God means the revealed will of God (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words). For instance 2 Kings 3:12 … “The word of the LORD is with him.” This means: God has informed him of his will.

In the beginning was the Word – but what does the Word actually mean? Does it mean that the Word is Jesus, or the Word is God’s message to people? Should it be written with a capital first letter? In the Bible, the word is written with a capital initial letter, but in the original text, all words are written in the same type, either in capital letters or just small ones. The word logos is manifested in many verses of the New Testament, but considering the context, it cannot in any way signify Jesus.

1 Jhn 1:1-3 That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life — and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us —3 What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you, too, can have fellowship with us. Now, this fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

The eternal life was with the Father. The Word of Life means precisely this or word that brings us eternal life. The Word of Life or God’s plan of salvation was with God from the beginning. When John writes that the Word was with God, he means that the word (message, plan) was in God’s mind. The New American Bible defines the word “word” (logos) as follows: Was thought to be a reality lodging within the person, and that it goes out from that person when spoken or written and then lodges within the person to whom it is directed.

1 Jhn 2:7 Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.

Mat 13: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside  (Jesus’ parable of the sower).

2 Pet 3:5 But they deliberately ignore the fact that long ago the heavens existed and the earth was formed by God’s word out of water and with water,

Heb 1:1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds            [the worlds, in Greek αἰών aiōn, ages. Green’s literal: ”He indeed made the ages”].

In the beginning was the Word means that in the beginning was the plan of God, the will of God to create the world that he carried out. In the OT times, God spoke to people through the prophets, but only in the last days through his Son. This I think, shows that Jesus was not the Word at the beginning of time.
The Word was with God means that God’s plan or his will was in his mind.

The Word was God

Prov 3:19 “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew. Rev 4:11 Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and because of your will they existed, and were created.”

God created the world with his word. Isaiah, on the other hand, says that God created the world alone. Jesus Christ did not create the universe, but He has created the new world to come. Yes, Jesus became God’s Word with His activity on earth.

In the gospel of John, there are verses which are considered to mean that Jesus Himself confirms to be the same as God the Father. However, Jesus himself said that he was the Son of God. He could have at least confessed to his disciples that he was God or one of the three God persons, but he did not mention anything like that. All the fullness of God lived in Jesus and the Apostle Paul prayed to the Father saying… and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, which you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:19) – The fullness of God thus reaches man when he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, and God and Christ dwell in man, in his heart.

Jhn 14:10 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake”.

In verse 9 Jesus said to Philip … “He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? By no means did Jesus mean he was the same as the Father. He meant that the Father lived in Him as the Father of Jesus can live in a Christian believer, when he has become a partaker of the Holy Spirit as Christ himself.

Does Apostle John testify Jesus is God? When Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus and said ”Thomas answered and said to Him, “my Lord and my God!” He saw the Father in Christ. Thomas did not mean to say that Jesus was the same as God the Father. (Jhn 20:28)

The verses of the Gospel of John have sayings which, for many, clearly testify of the divinity of Jesus. However, such testimony was not in John’s mind. Towards the end of the gospel, he says 20:31 But these have been recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, [i.e. the Messiah] the Son of God, and so that through believing you may have life in his name.

John had a good chance in his final remark to testify of the deity of Jesus, but he is not doing it: Jesus is the Christ and Jesus is the Son of God. This is a good thing to keep in mind when studying the verses of the gospel of John, which “testify” of the divinity of Jesus.

 

Many regard the gospel of John as the most important proof of the divinity of Jesus. However, the gospel was not written for this purpose; ”but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (20:31).

That is: The purpose of the gospel is to prove that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and Son of God. John also thoroughly describes Jesus’ relationship with God and points out Jesus’ fully dependent position in relation to the Father.

The following verses show that Jesus is completely dependent on Jehovah: Jhn 14:28 You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I.

Jhn 4:34 Jesus told them, My food is doing the will of the one who sent me and completing his work.

5:19 Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, Jesus said to them, Truly, truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For what he does, the Son does likewise. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. And he will show him even greater works than these, so that you may be amazed.

5:30 I can do nothing on my own accord. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.
6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.

6:57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will also live because of me.

7:16 Jesus replied to them, “My teaching is not mine but comes from the one who sent me.

8:28: So Jesus told them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority. Instead, I speak only what the Father has taught me. 29 Moreover, the one who sent me is with me. He has never left me alone because I always do what pleases him.”

8:42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would have loved me, because I came from God and am here. For I have not come on my own accord, but he sent me. 9:4 I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work. 15:15 … I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.

The message of these verses of the Scripture is clear. If many see in some verses of John that Jesus is the pre-existent God, the above verses testify of everything other than the deity of Jesus. According to these Bible items, Jesus is subordinate to the Father and in all things dependent on Him. How does Almighty God send another Almighty God, who is subordinate to the aforementioned Almighty God? For example, Panin translates those paragraphs that say that God has sent (comes from πέμπω, pempo to send) quite right “sent”, so there is no translation error. But sending can just as well mean sending Jesus after his baptism to perform God’s assignment in Israel. Nothing proves that it is a matter of sending pre-existent Jesus from Heaven to Earth. So the question is about the correct interpretation of the Bible; The Bible cannot be in conflict with itself, especially in the same book!

 

Another interpretation is possible, though it does not fit in the interpretation that favors the Triune God and therefore the mainstream churches have completely abandoned it. That’s not how it used to be. Until 1582, it said in the English version of the Bible: In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the Word was God. All things came into being through it, and without it nothing was made that was made.

From the 17th century on, especially due to the influence of the King James Version, the impression was strengthened that the Word was a Person, Jesus the Son of God, which is the second person of the Triune God. An old Bible from 1776 translates Jhn1:2 as follows: 2 This was not in the beginning with God.

If Jesus is not God – as I inferred on the basis of the Bible verses, The Word cannot be God either.

In the third and fourth centuries in Alexandria, Christianity was shaped by the great Christian scholars Clement, Origen, and Athanasius. After them, Biblical interpretation got the shape that in these verses of the Gospel of John, the Word meant Jesus. In the above verses, e.g. Tyndale used the word “IT” in 1525; e.g. verse 3: “All things were made by it”. As late as the turn of the centuries 1500/1600 the Trinitarian Catholic Bible and following it, the KJV replaced it with Him. He was, of course, Jesus Christ, even though numerous Bible items testify that it was the Father who alone created the world. See. e.g. Isaiah 44:24. The Bible says that ‘God created, or ‘God said’, or by the word of Jehovah, but nowhere is said that ‘the Word created’.

Jhn 20:31: but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

 

Who Created the World? God or Jesus or both together?

The creation of the world is told at the very beginning of the Bible. In Gen. 1:26 God says: God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

God also says this: Isa. 44:24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, the maker of all things; who alone stretched out the heavens, who did spread forth the earth by myself;

So God has done it alone and created everything. Psalm 33:6 confirms this: By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. And Psa 148:5 Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for he it is that commanded, and they were created:

When Jesus was born (became flesh) of the Virgin Mary, he became the Word of God who conveyed the will and message of God to mankind. Jesus was not in my opinion, in heaven creating the world at the beginning of the ages, but the world was made by the Father alone as testified by Isaiah at 44:24.

Jhn 1:10 He [Christ] was in the world, and the [new] world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” – God promises that “I make all things new” (Rev 21:5) but it is not the same thing as the original creation of the world. Also, pay attention to Eph 1:10: “with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”

You need to keep strictly separate the physical world (the universe, Gr. Cosmos), created by Jehovah God and the spiritual future world, created by the high priest, Jesus Christ.

 

Heb 1:2

“1:2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world (literally: ages).”

ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν Υἱῷ ὃν ἔθηκεν κληρονόμον πάντων δι’ οὗ καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς αἰῶνας

In Hebrews, does it really mean that the world was created through Jesus? The word ‘world’ comes from the Greek word αἰών aiōn. In Strong’s Lexicon, the meaning of the word aion is defined like this:

αἰών aiṓn; from the same as G104; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity (also past); by implication, the world; especially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future):—age, course, eternal, (for) ever(-more), (n-)ever, (beginning of the, while the) world (began, without end).

A better translation of the Hebrew letter could, concerning the creation of the world, be like this: … through which He created the coming ages (the Messianic era). This translated version is also supported by NENT: 2 hath at the end of these :days spoken to us in a Son, whom he appointed heir of all, through whom also he made the ages; 3 who being the Glory’s effulgence, and the very †image of his :substance, and †upholding :all things by the word of his :power, when he had made purification of :sins, sat down on the right of the Majesty on †high;

KJV 1789 says Heb 1:2 the following: Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;  – The preposition is wrong, not by Jesus, but through him, that is, Jesus’ crucifixion allows people to enter into the coming era by Jesus. The future time is also discussed in the next chapter: Heb 2:5 For he has not subjected to angels the habitable world which is to come, of which we speak;

At least the translation does not follow the most important meaning of αἰῶν (aion), which is related to time and times. The physical, material world is in Greek cosmos, but its creator was God the Father. Aion means the world as a human being perceives it in terms of his intellectual development; modern time (world) in relation to the times to come and eternity.

According to my interpretation, Paul’s idea is not to give evidence of the creation of the world (cosmos), but of the leading part of Christ in the reign of man in the coming ages, eternity, the kingdom of God. God has given us the opportunity, through the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to enter the kingdom of God in the future. Jesus is the heir of this new world (Millennial kingdom), its king. Christ will be the high priest of the true kingdom of God which starts after the last judgment has been executed.

God has spoken through His Son in the last days, and in earlier times he spoke through the prophets. From this, you could draw the conclusion that the creation of the world through Christ involves the creation of the future world that Christ has already begun on earth.

God the Father created alone the world, the universe testifies Isa 44:2 Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and he who formed you from the womb: I am Yahweh, who makes all things; who stretches forth the heavens alone; who spreads abroad the earth (who is with me?); God created the heavens, the stars, the entire universe (cosmos), but through the death of Jesus was created the messianic era. The same says Heb 1:10 And, You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands;

In Proverbs 8:30, it is stated that Jesus was a master workman of God in creating the world. This, however, does not mean that Father God was not the real creator, the architect. In Gen 1:26, God says, “Let us make …” To whom did he say so? For his own master worker, Jesus, if you believe in Jesus’s pre-existence, or to angels, who also rejoiced at the outcome.

 

Col 1:16

For by [or in] him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς

because in Him all in heaven were created … Preposition ἐν (en) in him, not he. If Paul wanted to say that Christ created everything, he would have said it directly. Now he uses the words in a way difficult to understand. Earlier, I wrote who alone created the world, God the Father. He also created the visible and invisible powers. After his resurrection, Christ ascended to Heaven and was exalted above all these powers. All of them have been created and been foreseen by God, and they were assigned to Christ. 1 Pet 1:19 “but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, the blood of Christ; 20 who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of times for your sake,

Col 1:17: καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν πρὸ πάντων καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν

“He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” – Those who regard this as referring to a moral creation, interpret it as meaning that he has the pre-eminence over all things; not as referring to his pre-existence (Barnes’).

Many Trinitarians think these verses witness the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus. Barnes: ”And by him all things subsist” – or are sustained. The meaning is, that they are kept in the present state; their existence, order, and arrangement are continued by his power. If unsupported by him, they would fall into disorder, or sink back to nothing. If this is the proper interpretation, then it is the ascription to Christ of infinite power – for nothing less could be sufficient to uphold the universe; and of infinite wisdom – for this is needed to preserve the harmonious action of the suns and systems of which it is composed. None could do this but one who is divine; and hence we see the reason why he is represented as the image of the invisible God. He is the great and glorious and ever-active agent by whom the perfections of God are made known.

The above verses of Paul are difficult to understand and Peter found this himself and wrote (2 Pet 3:16): … “as also in all His letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction”

Jeremiah

10:12 He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens:

38:16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, As Jehovah lives, who made us, …

Nehemiah

9:6 You are Yahweh, even you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things that are thereon, the seas and all that is in them, and you preserve them all; and the host of heaven worships you.

Job 9:5-9

5 Who [God] removes the mountains, and they don’t know it, when he overturns them in his anger 6 Who shakes the earth out of its place; The pillars of it tremble; 7 Who commands the sun, and it doesn’t rise, And seals up the stars; 8 Who alone stretches out the heavens, Treads on the waves of the sea; 9 Who makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, And the chambers of the south;

Psalms

33:6 By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
89:11 The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours; The world and its fullness. You have founded them.
115:15 Blessed are you by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.
124:8 Our help is in the name of Jehovah, the maker of heavens and earth.
136:5 To him who by understanding made the heavens; For his loving kindness endures forever:
148:5 Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for he it is that commanded, and they were created:

Isaiah

42:5 Thus says God Yahweh, he who created the heavens, and stretched them forth; he who spread abroad the earth and that which comes out of it; he who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk therein:

45:18 For thus says Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited: I am Yahweh; and there is no one else.

44:24 Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb: I am Jehovah, the maker of all things; who alone stretched out the heavens, who did spread forth the earth by myself; – Is this God the Father, or Jesus Christ, the Son of God speaking? According to one opinion (Gill’s Bible Exposition), the Son of God: These are the words of the Son of God, of Christ, the Redeemer of his people; and the following show him to be the Mighty God, and so able to redeem them, and therefore was appointed to this work, and undertook it.

I cannot accept this position because God spoke in ancient times through his prophets, not through his son Jesus. The prophets, like Isaiah as quoted above, were prophets of God the Father. In their message, it is the Father God who speaks. Jesus became the last prophet and the Word of God after these prophets. God has made Jesus Christ the heir of the future world. This is when the kingdom of God, the new world, is established (created) on earth. This is also about the coming event and God’s sure promise. Satan is still the king of this world, as he said to Jesus in the wilderness when he offered the world to Jesus if Jesus consented to worship Satan. In Heaven, Jesus is already above all creatures and when he comes for the second time, God’s promise is fulfilled and Satan is excluded from his present position as the god of this world.

Acts

17:24 The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands,

Revelation

4:11 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory, honor, and power, because you created all things, and they came into existence and were created because of your will.

 

• For an introduction
• Panin removed some of the Bible verses from the NENT translation
• What does the Bible say about changes? 
• The Comma Johanneum in 1 Joh 5:7-8 
• He who descended from God in Heaven
• The Word became flesh (Joh 1:14)       

 

For an introduction

There are dozens of different Bible translations. Where does the Bible translation begin? Now, I am thinking mainly of the problematics of the translation of the New Testament.
The New Testament was written in Greek. First, we need to find the correct Greek original. This can be determined in different ways. It has generally been argued that the oldest text would be the best and would not have reproduction problems, duplication errors or direct additions or even forgeries.

However, there is one way of ensuring the true origin of the Scriptures. That’s what I’ve brought up on these pages. In the Bible – both Old and New Testament – there is a Divine Numeric Code. If this code remains unbroken from the beginning to the end, we can count on the text as a whole being the original inspiration (inspired) of God for mankind. So if you understand and accept this reliable Bible text, you can go to the next question and condition.

Very few people are able to read the text written in Koine Greek. In addition to that, all the words are written without punctuation and without distinguishing names in capital letters. This leads to questions of interpretation and also disagreements. Where should I put the comma? Is it a question of God or of god?

Ivan Panin, who delivered the New Testament in the Greek language, also translated it into the English language as a skillful linguist. He used the American Standard, which he qualified as the basis for his work. This Appendix now includes this New Testament provided by Ivan Panin. Let me remind you again that this English translation does not include the numeric code; it is merely a translation of the Greek UT, which completely fulfilled the requirements of the numerics. Indeed, Panin sought for the most accurate translation in his English translation. The language used in his translation is old when compared with the current English language.

 

Panin removed some of the Bible verses from the NENT translation

Deleted Bible verses:

Mat 17:21 But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.
Mat 18:11 For the Son of man has come to save that which was lost.
Mat 23:14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour the houses of widows, and pray at length as a pretext. Because of this, you will receive more abundant judgment.
Mar 7:16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
Mar 11:26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your sins.
Mar 15:28 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the lawless.” Isa 53:12
Luk 17:36 There shall be two men in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. (See Mat 24:40)
Luk 22:45 Then He opened up their mind to understand the Scriptures,
Luke 23:17And he had to release to them one at the Feast.
Joh 5:4 For an angel from time to time descended in the pool and agitated the water. Then the one first entering after the agitation of the water became well, whatever disease he was held by.
Act 8:37 And Philip said, If you believe from all the heart, it is lawful. And answering he said, I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God.
Act 15:34 But it seemed good to Silas to remain.
Act 24:7 but Lysias the chiliarch coming up with much force took him away out of our hands,
Act 28:29 And he saying these things, the Jews went away, having much discussion among themselves.
Rom 16:24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Many ancient manuscripts lack the above verses. An even better justification to leave these verses from the Bible is that the verses do not meet the numeric requirement.

These verses in the deleted list are not crucial to the Bible interpretation. However, there are many ambiguous points in the Bible that are really relevant. It often produces a chain reaction, which passes on the interpretation of the faith to new and emerging issues. A good example is the question of the pre-existence of Jesus. If we accept that Jesus has always existed in heaven with the Father, we must also accept his divinity and omnipotence and that he came down from heaven to earth as God but taking the human form and that he was from the beginning the Word of God. When God cannot die, Jesus did not die in the same way as a human being dies.

Gradually, the Catholic Church fathers had developed the most peculiar explanations and the synods accepted these doctrines which every member of the church had to accept at the risk of anathema and even their lives.

 

What does the Bible say about changes? 

The Bible warns of arbitrary changes: Rev 22:18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy in this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will strike him with the plagues that are written in this book. 19 If anyone takes away any words from the book of this prophecy, God will take away his portion of the tree of life and the holy city that are described in this book.

Deu 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.

Deu 12:32 Whatever thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Prov 30:6 Don’t you add to his words, Lest he reprove you, and you be found a liar.

The apostles’ writings and their copies have remained about five thousand. They include, for example, monks replicated in monastery libraries, and some have had a compelling need for their own additions. Sometimes the replicator has had so much need to clarify the writer’s idea that he has considered it appropriate with his own addition to make it even “clearer”. In some places, these additions are trumpet-proof verses of the trinity essence. 1 John 5: 7-8 are such additions that did not belong to the original text. These additions have moved forward when others have copied the text version where the additions have been: KJV: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Also, the following verse, which gives instructions on baptism in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: Mat 28:19 Therefore go, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, – How do we know that this verse has been added to the original texts? It is clear from the Bible that the apostles always baptized only in the name of Jesus Christ. Surely they would have baptized in the names of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit if Jesus had so commanded.

 

The Comma Johanneum in 1 Joh 5:7-8

Over the centuries, many versions of these two verses have been published. They have been characterized by the desire to associate the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit with the Triune God as the basis for the realization of Catholic doctrines. For the first time, these verses appeared in the Latin Vulgate in the 9th century. However, the real controversy took place in the 1500s in the Reformation era. For example, the Douay-Rheims Version, the English New Testament published in 1582 in Reims, France, says:

7 And there are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one. 8 And there are three that give testimony on earth: the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three are one.

However, all Catholic scholars of the Bible were not unanimously adding The Comma (comma means a short clause) in the Bible. Erasmus of Rotterdam was a learned Greek of the 16th century and, of course, a Latin speaker. He was publishing the New Testament in Greek based on old Greek manuscripts. Erasmus, therefore, supplied both a revised Latin New Testament and a Greek equivalent, which then evolved into the well-known Textus Receptus. However, Erasmus lacked a small part of the Greek text. What is he doing? It is reported that Erasmus translated the missing Greek text from the Latin Vulgata and from this translation translated the missing part back to his Latin text.

Comma Johanneum was included in the commonly used versions of Vulgate, and therefore Erasmus was pressured to include Comma Johanneum into his own text because the supporters of the triune God lacked clear Biblical texts in support of the Catholic doctrine. In the first two editions the comma was not included, but then when the third edition appeared, under 1522 Erasmus was pressed to accept the addition. Subsequently, Comma Johanneum was included in the upcoming Greek texts of the New Testament, which became known as the Textus Receptus (Received Text).

By the end of the 16th century, the Reformation advanced, when the Reformists fought against the influence of the papal priesthood and Bibles in English and other languages began to appear to the public; for example, William Tyndale’s Bible in England. The New Testament of Erasmus in the Greek language attracted widespread interest. The first edition was followed by a second edition, which had corrected many of the first edition mistakes. In the third edition (1522) the Comma Johanneum (1 John 5: 7-8) was added to the scripture as a reference to the holy trinity:

7 For there are three bearing witness in Heaven: the Father the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
8 And there are three who bear witness on the earth: The Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three are to the one.

NENT translation: 7 And it is the Spirit that witnesseth, because the Spirit is the truth. 8 Because the witnessing ones are three: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three agree in one.

Luther’s Bible translation is missing Comma Johanneum, as it was based on Erasmus’s second edition of the Greek NT. In Greek scripts, Comma Johanneum is missing except for a few very late manuscripts, mostly copied in the 16th century or later. Early Greek churches do not even refer to this point.

However, KJV 1789 states that: 1 Joh. 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
A Bible translation from 1776 says in verse 7: … these three are one, and in verse 8: … the three are together.

These two verses (The comma) appear for the first time in the 15th century Greek manuscripts. The Comma is missing from Ethiopian, Aramean, Syriac, Slavic, Armenian, Georgian, and Arabic New Testament Greek versions. At a later stage, these verses then appeared in Greek scripts, as I explained above how Erasmus was put pressure to add them.

What do we learn from this? At least the fact that the truth can be displaced when fighting for even more important values such as the doctrine of the Church. Similar doctrinal fabrications (additions) are discussed in my next article ”Baptism in the name of the Son and the Holy Ghost”.

 

He who descended from God in Heaven

No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven (Joh 3:13).

This is one of the Bible’s most important questions. Did Jesus come from God in Heaven? Really, was Jesus in heaven with God, and God sent Jesus from there on earth? This is therefore intrinsically linked to the question of Jesus’ pre-existence.

Joh 3:13 NENT And no one hath ascended into the heaven, except he that descended out of the heaven, the Son of :man. Descend; καταβαίνω katabaínō, from G2596 and the base of G939; to descend (literally or figuratively):—come (get, go, step) down, fall (down). Descending can therefore also be figurative, for example ”as from the temple at Jerusalem, from the city of Jerusalem of celestial beings coming down to earth”.

John and Jesus. In Joh 1:6 it is said John the Baptist to be ”a man sent from God” (ἀποστέλλω παρά θεός apostellō para theos). – This means simply that John the Baptist was a man sent from God, i.e. he was “from God”, not from people or from the devil. Compare Mat 21:25 NENT The baptism of :John, whence was it? From heaven or from men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say to us, Why then did ye not believe him? – The baptism of John was from heaven, not from men.

Jesus is come from the Father in the same way as John the Baptist and the disciples. He is a man sent by God. Jesus is not of this world but is from above as his disciples are not of this world but are from above, from God. Joh 17:14 I have given them your word. The world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

NENT: I have given them thy :word; and the world hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. NENT 16:27-28 27 for the Father himself loveth you, because YE have loved me, and have believed that I came forth from the Father. 28 I came out from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go unto the Father.

NENT 6:38 For I [Jesus] am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Luk 20:4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?

Luk 20:4 The baptism of John, was it from Heaven, or from men? The baptism of John is from heaven. (ἐκ οὐρανός ek ouranos), not from men.  It does not mean that he would have existed with God before the creation of the world. Jesus said he came “from heaven” (εκ του ουρανου) John 6:38; For I am come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. – It does not mean that he would have been a spirit or a spirit being with the Father before the foundation of the world as many believe with certainty.

Joh 6:32 Then Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses has not given you the bread out of Heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out of Heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.
34 Then they said to Him, Lord, always give us this bread.
35 Jesus said to them, I am the Bread of life; the one coming to me will not at all hunger, and the one believing in me will never thirst.
36 But I told you that you have seen me, and yet you don’t believe.
37 All those who the Father gives me will come to me. Him who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
38 For I am come down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

So the actions of Jesus and John were planned and decided by God in advance. However, the plan that God had foreseen to save humanity was much wider: 1 Pet 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the chosen ones who are living as strangers in the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled in his blood: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

The disciples and followers of Jesus are not “of the world”. It does not mean that they would have been in heaven as spirits before the foundation of the world. They were in the mind of God, in the foreknowledge of God. The same applies to Jesus. The Holy Spirit of God made Virgin Mary pregnant and Jesus lived a completely sinless life and died to free all mankind from the bonds of sin.

As you read John’s account of how the Father gives true bread from heaven, remember that it is still a figurative description. Jesus assures himself to be the bread of God that comes from heaven. When he says “if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever”, it does not mean eating bread, but receiving his word; when one receives it, the person gets eternal life. Jesus is the living bread that has come from heaven. The bread that he gives is his flesh for the life of the world. Because he spoke figuratively, the Jews could not understand what he meant. Is all his speech a figurative expression, his coming of heaven and the bread of life which he brings from heaven and gives to humans? It may be possible that the part describing Jesus coming would be a concrete expression, and the second part, that is, the bread of life would be symbolic. I do not want to rule out this possibility, even if such an interpretation would not be limited to this single Scripture; it would mean almost everything to be re-evaluated. It is therefore not possible to present such a broad interpretation on the basis of a single word – “heaven”.

Joh 3:3 Jesus replied to him, “Truly, truly I tell you, unless a person is born from above [Or born again] he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Jesus is born from above, but not in the same way from above as people of faith who throw behind their sinful lives and become God’s children. Jesus never committed sin, so he did not need to be born again from above. He was born from his father, but not again. The will of God, therefore, was that his son would atone for the sins of all people with his own life. 1 Joh 4:10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

– Jesus cannot, according to this, be equal and almighty God like the Father and the Holy Spirit. God sent Jesus but nobody can send God. God is present everywhere; If God the Father sends out of heaven His Son, who is also (according to the doctrine of Trinity), equal God, then the son would no longer be present everywhere. Fil. 2:6 who, existing in God’s form, counted not the being on an equality with God ought to be grasped at, 7 but emptied himself, taking a bondman’s form, being made in likeness of men;

Mat 3:17 Then a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him! – The spirit of God came at that time to live with his son Jesus as the spirit came later to the disciples and to others who believed. Jesus is the Son of God born of Mary through the holy spirit. The recognition of God cannot be regarded as the true birth of Jesus. God had been pleased with him even before.

Jesus was born of virgin Mary, yes. Heb. 1: 5, however, says: For to which of the angels did He ever say, “You are My Son; today I have begotten You“? And again, “I will be a Father to Him, and He shall be a Son to Me. Psa 2:7 I will declare concerning the statute of Jehovah: He said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have begotten You. – What is the day when Jesus was born? Jesus was born only after God saw Jesus fulfilled the task assigned to him, that is, by dying on the cross for all mankind.

Jesus said he came from heaven because he is the firstborn of spirit. Coming from heaven means that Jesus received the holy spirit in connection with his baptism, not that he had come from heaven as a spirit to his mother Maria’s womb. Man can be the brother of Jesus, if born from above (from heaven). NENT: Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said to thee, Ye must be born from above.

Joh 8:42 Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would have loved me, because I came from God and am here. For I have not come on my own accord, but he sent me. (εκ του θεου, KJV: I proceeded forth and came from God) ἐξέρχομαι exerchomai G 1831 Strong’s from G1537 and G2064; to issue (literally or figuratively):—come (forth, out), depart (out of), escape, get out, go (abroad, away, forth, out, thence), proceed (forth), spread abroad.

Joh. 16:28 I came out from the Father and have come into the world; I leave the world again and go to the Father.

Joh 3:2 He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher, for no one can perform these signs that you are doing unless God is with him. – This includes the words “you have come from God (ἔρχομαι ἀπό θεός erchomai apo theos), mean that God has given him this, so he acts as a representative of God and, in all respects, authorized by God. Jesus did everything in accordance with God’s will and said: Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will also live because of me. (Joh 6:57).

– When the Holy Spirit comes down from heaven to a man, merge the human spirit and the spirit of God with each other, and they will become one spirit. 1 Cor 6:17 says: But the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 1 Cor 15:47 calls such people come from heaven: The first man [Adam] came from the dust of the earth; the second man came from heaven. Such a human being is born again (from above) and Jesus Christ calls them brothers. 2 Kor 6:18 promises that … ” you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

 

The Word became flesh (Joh 1:14)

What would be the result of the decision of the churches that Jesus is, at the same time, completely God and fully human? He would be both God and the Son of God in the physical body of man. If Jesus was both God and man at the same time, he would have had the Holy Spirit without the Father God sending it to him. Why then did God the Father need to send the Holy Spirit to him? What if Jesus was not in Heaven except as part of God’s plan in God’s mind? Then many questions are entirely appropriate.

What Jesus spoke did not come of himself, but he received the words from God the Father. This is evident from the Bible: Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him: If any man love me, he will keep my word (λόγος logos), and my Father loveth him: and we will come unto him, and we will dwell with him. 24 The one who does not love me does not keep my words. The word (λόγος logos) that you hear is not mine, but comes from the Father who sent me. – If Jesus had been in heaven as the Son of God or as a part of the triune God before coming to earth, he could have spoken to the people what he himself thought and not to speak what God gave him the task. Jesus emphasized in all his activities his subordinate position in relation to God the Father. How could Jesus have been God like the Father?

Jhn 17:6 I have made your name known to the men you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word (λόγος). 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, for they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

1 Joh 2:7 Brothers, I do not write a new commandment to you, but an old commandment (ἐντολή entolē) which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word (λόγος) which you heard from the beginning.

God created the world in his word. The word is the commandment of God, which leads to the outcome of God’s will. Jesus was born into the world and conveyed the word of God to the world. It can be said that he became God’s word for the world. The word logos means at all points in the Bible a word, message, or command. How in the world did the Catholic scholars interpreted it to mean the Son of God?

Jhn 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us, and we beheld his :glory, glory as of an only begotten with a father, full of grace and truth. – For this verse, we can test our understanding. Do we believe that Jesus, the Son of God, who was in heaven as the Word and who was made flesh on earth, and who lived among us? Or do we believe that the plan of God’s word was realized when Jesus Christ was born on earth and in his life for the will of God? When “the word lived in our midst”, do we think that Jesus Christ simply lived with his disciples? Or do we understand that Christ came to live in the hearts of the disciples and in all the hearts of those who received the word thus being born again from above? As the Word dwells in us, we have in faith the same fullness of spirit as Christ had, as well as many fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22).

 

Translation is not an easy task and errors have occurred, even hundreds. For example, the King James Version has over the centuries been corrected or improved uncountable times. Surely also in other Bible translations. As the centuries passed, the importance of Latin became increasingly important. The Bible was forbidden to ordinary people. It was only in use of the clergy and scholars (who were often theologians as well).

In the old Greek scriptures translated in English before the first millennium, the words “everlasting,” “evermore,” “forever and ever” or “eternal” or the like were not used. Because I am not a linguist, I do not intervene in history in more detail. I can only say that maybe since the 1300s, there was a change in translations and that, the characterization of eternity became more common and became exclusive.

I have not been able to review the early Middle Ages Bible translations, but Wyclif 1382 has not translated “for ever and ever” but “into Worlds of Worlds”, which I think refers to (the world) eras. They may belong, but not necessarily “for ever and ever”. John Wyclif completed his translation in 1382. Just over a hundred years later William Tyndale’s 1536 Bible translation, then Myles Coverdale (1539 The Great Bible), Thomas Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer (1539), the Geneva Bible (1557), Rheims (1582 ), and The King James Version (1611 translations), “forever and ever” “everlasting” and “eternal” became more common and are still the mainstream interpretations of today.

Rheims: Mark 3:29  But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, shall never have forgiveness, but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin. KJV: “eternal sin”.

Jhn 3:16 For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

Tyndale: Jhn 3:16 For God so loveth the worlde yt he hath geven his only sonne that none that beleve in him shuld perisshe: but shuld have everlastinge lyfe.

Tyndale: Rev 2o:10 and the devyll that desceaved them was cast into a lake of fyre and brymstone where the beest and the falce prophet were and shalbe tormented daye and nyght for ever more .

Geneva Bible: Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

The vast majority of contemporary translations also use the terms from the Middle Ages:

NASB Rev 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (εἰς αἰών αἰών).

King James translation is a translation based on the Latin language, as well as all the translations that follow it. After the seventeenth century, KJV has been restored countless times and perhaps hundreds of translation items have been improved. My own writing uses several modern translations as well as KJV translation. When I compare, for example, three modern translations, I often have to say that the differences between them are in word choices to separate a translation from previously published translations. I prefer to use contemporary language; instead of saying ” It is the Spirit which quickens” I choose translations which says ” It is the Spirit who gives life”. The truth is spelled out over time and with the refinements of the translations.

 

The Bible is full of metaphors, symbols and figurative expression. Jesus spoke to his listeners only with parables, so that they would not understand (!). The last book of the Bible, Revelation, is the account by Jesus to John about what happens at the end of time. John conveyed this to the readers of the Bible. It was also given to people for the same purpose – so that they would not understand it. Or they would only understand when they have thoroughly studied the scriptures. For this reason, Revelation is full of figurative expressions and symbols. Symbols have a spiritual purpose. Jesus said that “… the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (Jhn 6:63). Everything in the Bible is true, but many things (given in figurative language) are not literally true.

Rev 1:1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,

This is how the Revelation begins. Jesus Christ sent this by the angel he had sent to John. The following examples show corresponding translations:

NLT He sent an angel to present this revelation to his servant John,

NIV He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John

NASB He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

However, the KJV and some other translations are more accurate. They use the phrase “they sent and signified it”. Some Bible translations follow KJV’s example.

KJV: The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

To the word signify are associated with the symbols in a form of upcoming events, which are given to John for information.

Signify:  σημαίνω sēmaínō to give a sign, to signify, indicate, to make known, to betoken. For example: KJV Jhn 12:33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.  To betoken: show by signs, symbols or tokens; To foreshow By present signs; indicate something future by that which is seen or known. Foreshow: To show in advance; to foretell, predict; A manifestation in advance; a prior indication.

In this book, God through Jesus wanted to show John in advance with figurative expressions and symbols of what was going to happen. Therefore, the book of Revelation is full of metaphors and symbols. I have asked many times, why? Would it not have been better if people had understood correctly what will happen. Even Luther was nervous about the obscure expressions of Revelation and was prepared to leave the whole book out of the Bible.

Here are a few examples of figurative expressions:

Jesus said He is the bread of life: Jhn 6:35 Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. Luk. 22:19 Then he took a loaf of bread, gave thanks, broke it in pieces, and handed it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Keep on doing this in memory of me. – For example, Catholics really believe that the communion bread actually becomes the body of Jesus. If anyone does not understand that this is a figurative expression, he probably will not understand that the cruel torture of the fiery lake of Revelation is also a figurative expression.

Why did Jesus speak to his listeners with parables that they would not understand? The Apostles did not understand either, but to them, Jesus, of course, explained what He meant by figurative images. In most cases, He said that it was a parable, but sometimes he did not. For example, in his parable of the rich man and Lazarus, he did not claim it was a parable. It is no surprise that many readers of the story today still regard it as literally true. This very parable has been used as proof that there is a Paradise like space where the dead are in a conscious state; the righteous are “in Abraham’s bosom” in paradise. The sinners suffer from the pain of Hell on the other side of the canyon. Ask yourself: how can anyone be sent to Hell without Jesus’ final judgment has taken place? When reading the Bible, it is important to evaluate whether it is literally true what the Bible says. Everything in the Bible is true – but not always literally true.

 

In 1526, William Tyndale completed the translation of the first English New Testament, which caused a great change in the religious life. Until then, the Bible was in Latin and used only for the clergy. The Reformation stirred Europe in the 16th century. Bibles began to be delivered in languages other than Latin. What was the benefit of it when 80% of the population were illiterate? People gathered together, read together the Bible in the vernacular – no longer in Latin, which no ordinary people understood, although many thought that it was God’s language and the prayers in Latin were readily heard by God. Tyndale had to pay for his courage, and he was burned in the stake. Luther and the other reformists drew the distinction from the papal power. But Luther did not want just anyone to explain the Word, especially if they did not have the authorization to do so.

In 1604, King James I of England authorized that a new translation of the Bible into English be started. It was finished in 1611, just 85 years after the first translation of the New Testament into English appeared. The Authorized Version, or King James Version, quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants.

In this article, I will study some Bible points that have been translated incorrectly. When I wonder why those verses have been translated this way, the reason may be that:
– They are really misunderstood, or
– They were well understood, but it would have been against the existing doctrine, so they were translated into the doctrinal content

The translations are clearly tendentious; Jesus is to be seen as a God who has been with God the Father in heaven and created the world from God’s commission. These two attributes of Jesus are linked together: Jesus cannot be God without being pre-existent in heaven, and the other way round; Jesus cannot be pre-existent in heaven without being God. There is no known man in heaven until God took Jesus to him and raised him above all those in heaven and on earth.

Countless, or at least hundreds, of mistranslated verses have been corrected for many translations. The problem is that the instilled false doctrines during the centuries have been fruitful; even if the errors have been corrected, the incorrect message itself has not been rectified. Perhaps you are willing to admit that in these and perhaps in some other points, the Bible translation is still wrong. Do you think that people, after having known it, reject the false doctrine such as Jesus’ pre-existence or deity, which are based on incorrect translation?

I can tell you that this is hardly the case. In various Bible circles, incorrect translations are introduced and corrections are presented for deaf ears! The learned attitudes and perceptions of people are not altered with the correct information. To the person who tells the truth will be answered: “Who do you think you are? Do you even have any theological degree?” “There could be some truth in what you say, but that is how I have believed my whole life.” “What denomination do you really belong to?” And so on…

Jesus:  Eternal Father (Isa 9:5-6)

The word “Father” is also a title, which is used of people such as Abraham and Jacob, and not only of God, when these people represent God when ruling their family or their people as a chieftain or a king like David.

Joh 4:12:”Are you greater than our father, Jacob…” 8:39: They replied to him, “Our father is Abraham!…”

God the Father is and has always been the eternal Father. However, Jesus came to existence only when he was born of the Virgin Mary as a Son of God. God gave Jesus the task of redeeming mankind from the power of sin and the grip of Satan. Jesus started a new covenant and the old Law Covenant was left behind. 2 Cor 5:17 also says: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Rev 22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. 1:18 I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. – Not only does the believer become a new creation, the whole world then becomes a new world. Death has been defeated and the people of the new world live forever. Humanity has been restored to its original essence. Jesus Christ is the first and the last of this new world – A and O of the new creation. Rev 3:14 … The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: – It can be said that God is the Eternal Father, and the Son of God is the father of future eternity, the father of the coming new world, and also his High Priest. Eternal and eternity; I see the difference right in that God the Father is the father of the bygone eternity and Jesus Christ is the Father of the future eternity.

God the Father is the Eternal Father and Jesus is the father of eternity, not the eternal Father. When God the Father created the physical world, the Son Jesus Christ redeemed people from the slavery of sin and created the new world and is the Father of this creation.  The new world is opened to us after the last judgment when sin and death have been eliminated for eternity and God is all in all

Isa 9:6 should actually be translated in this way: ”For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulders. And his name will be called the Wonder of the Counsellor, the Judge of the Mighty Everlasting Father, the Prince of peace.”

 

Jesus: Mighty God

Meanings of the word ”el”;  Strong’s H410:

god, god-like one, mighty one
mighty men, men of rank, mighty heroes angels
god, false god, (demons, imaginations)
God, the one true God, Jehovah
mighty things in nature
III. strength, power

Dr. I.Epstein has given a meaning to the word ”el” judge in this particular place; The Soncino Talmud 94 a

”gibbowr”; strong’s H1368 means strong, mighty

El gibbowr should be translated ”mighty judge” and the whole sentence: ”judge of the mighty and eternal God”…

From the Bible we can read that when Jesus comes the second time he is going to judge the living as well as the dead. 2 Tim 4:1 In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge those who are living and those who are dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly appeal to you

An old, and even today generally accepted, flawed translation suggests that Jesus as God has existed with God in heaven from the very beginning of time. Isaiah’s verse reveals that the child and son he spoke of had not yet been born in Isaiah’s time, although the tense used means ‘born’ and ‘given’, but the English translation speaks in the future ‘will be’), and secondly that Jesus was not “The Mighty God, the Father” spoken there.

 

Jesus: Came into existence (Gal 4:4)

Jesus had a beginning, and the apostle Paul tells us in Gal 4:4 what that beginning was:

KJV: But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.

Why does KJV translate the word G1096 ginomai into the word “made”. Both Strong’s and Thayer’s Greek Lexicon prefer the term to ‘come into existence’ or to ‘come into being’. I do not really understand what is the purpose of ‘made of a woman’ when ‘came into existence’ better describes his coming into the world.

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

For the English translation of Galatians 4:4 has been proposed: But when the appointed time had fully come, Jehovah sent forth His son, coming into existence from a woman, coming into existence under the subjection of the Law. Alternatively: but when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, having come into being out of a woman, having come under Law,

Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed (Joh 17:5).

John 17: 5 translated this way implies that Jesus was with God in heaven before the world was. He had glory in heaven, which he was missing on earth. – It is appropriate to clarify the translation and the message of the verse.

Jesus knew that he should get himself the glory which Peter tells in 1 Peter 1:11: “Examining closely to what things, or what manner of season, which the spirit that was in them made clear to them, when it testified beforehand to the sufferings of Messiah, and the glory that would follow.

NASB: 1 Pet 1:11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. – … “the Glory that would follow” is a remarkable expression. What kind of glory God could have – if we believe that Jesus was God before coming to Earth? Getting the glory may be possible only to someone who does not already have it.

1 Pet 5:1: The elders who are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of the Messiah, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: NASB: seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

Psa 110:1 A Psalm of David. A statement of Jehovah to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool. – We have heard this verse countless times, but have we considered what it means? According to Psalm 110, God the Father says “Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool.”  Mat 22:44 and Mar 12:36 say the same, except for the ‘footstool’ they say ‘under your feet’ but that is not essential. I attach my attention to the word until. ‘Until’ means that the previous activity ends. Christ sits on the throne on the right hand of God and his enemies will be under the feet of Christ until … something happens.

Let us return to the interpretation of Joh 17:5: And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Strong’s G2192 gives meaning: to have, i.e. to hold. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament defines this word to mean: to have in store!

A proposal for an English translation of Joh 17:5 And now, O Father, You glorify me beside Your own self, with the glory which I am to have with You before the world to come.

‘Before the world to come’ means before the new coming world, which begins after the last judgment when God is all in all. Christ would receive the reward of honour and glory as he ascends to the throne on the right hand of God to wait for the moment when he will come back and become the king of the Kingdom of God. There is a separate article about the Kingdom of God.

Christ sits on the throne of God, on the right hand of God, but he leaves the kingdom of heaven and comes with heavenly hosts to the earth. For a thousand years, Jesus and his saints rule the new kingdom of peace or the Millennial kingdom with an iron sceptre. Psa 2:9 You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

Rev 2:27 He will rule them with a rod of iron, shattering them like clay pots; as I also have received of my Father:  – 12:5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. Her child was caught up to God, and to his throne.

19:15 Out of his mouth proceeds a sharp, double-edged sword, that with it he should strike the nations. He will rule them with a rod of iron. He treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty.

There will be a war in heaven, and Christ with his angels fight against Satan’s forces and defeats them. What happens then?  Satan and his forces are thrown down onto earth. Then again when Christ comes the second time, there will be war over against Satan and the outcome is that Satan is bound for a thousand years. For these thousand years, the Millennial kingdom also requires ruling with the iron sceptre before everything is subjected under Christ and his saints.

Psa 110:1: A statement of Jehovah to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool. – Christ knew that God would raise him up to sit on the throne of God in heaven after he had accomplished God’s task for him, and after that God would raise him from the dead by taking him to heaven as the first fruit of many to be resurrected.

It is important to note that this glory was to come to Christ only after his resurrection. The elevation of Christ does not take place – as I have written elsewhere – until after his resurrection. If he had previously been in heaven as God and as a part of a triune God, God the Father would not have needed to raise him to a higher position.

1 Cor speaks of the essential events that take place in the near future: Paul confirms what we know, but what many do not hold true; the resurrection of the dead will happen through man. This man is Jesus Christ. The resurrection of the dead occurs through man, not by God. Not God Jesus, but Jesus the man! God raised the man, Jesus, from the dead, but the man Jesus brings all the people from death and judges them in the final judgment.                    

1 Cor 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming.
24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power.
24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power.
25 For he must rule until God puts all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
27 For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him.
28 When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.

Above, I dealt with the rule of Christ and its endurance until he put all the enemies under his feet. There is still one big enemy to be defeated: death. Death is defeated at the last judgement. In the Book of Life, it is listed who gets eternal life and who is to be judged.

When Christ has defeated all resistance, he will surrender the kingdom back to Jehovah, our Father, and it will only take place at the end of the Millennium kingdom after the last judgment. Perhaps it may be surprising that annihilation of enemies may take 1000 years! The Bible proves that, finally, Christ is subordinated to God so that Jehovah is above all. The role of Jesus Christ will be the High Priest, not working as a God with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The Hebrew letter focuses on the future world (verse 5). In verse 8, however, it is revealed how everything is placed under Christ’s feet. This will not happen until Christ comes for the second time (and take the kingdom of God will and rule with the saints on Earth for a thousand years
The prophecies of Psalm 45 and the Hebrew Letter are consistent. They are still waiting for their fulfilment, although the grammatical tense of the prophecy may lead to think that everything has already come true.

 

Like the Son of God (Daniel 3:25)

KJV Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Not many Bible translations today translate this verse as the KJV (has made during four hundred years) This is also part of the passage that was meant to prove, through the Bible, that Jesus was not only the Son of God, but also the pre-existent God in heaven.

The NASB and World English Bible have chosen the following as a translation: ”a son of the gods”. NASB’s translation of the words ‘bar elahh’ (Aramaic) might be pertinent if it were not to take into account that three verses later, King Nebuchadnezzar himself states: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel…

The error has finally been corrected in many other translations. I wonder about the work of the translators of the KJV. Did they not notice that three verses later, there is a clarification for them that would have prevented a bad mistranslation that may have put the readers on the wrong track? It is hard to believe that the translators of the KJV did not notice three verses later the word “angel” מַלְאַךְ Malak, which they would have been able to translate correctly at other points.

Dan 3:28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

A similar misunderstanding happens when reading Joh 20:28: Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Three verses later, the purpose of John is revealed.

 

What is his son’s name? (Pro 30:4)

KJV Pro 30:4 Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?

From this verse, one can easily get the impression that it is about the son of God that goes back and forth between heaven and earth. “The sons of God” are, according to the Bible, angels.

Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said: Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?

Heb 2:5 For it is not to the angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.

Heb 2:16 For truly, He does not take hold of angels, but He takes hold of the seed of Abraham.

There are absolutely no direct statements to the effect that any beings existed besides Jehovah God before He created the angels. But, there are many direct scriptures which say emphatically that Jehovah God was alone at creation, and that there was none beside him!

Isa 43:11 KJV I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

Isa 44:6, 8 KJV Thus saith the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD [Jehovah] of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Jes 44:6 NASB  “Thus says the LORD [Jehovah], the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.

7 ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.

8 ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none.’”

KJV: Isaiah 45:5  I am the LORD [Yehovah], and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

Did Jesus create the World? (Eph 3:9)

KJV Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: – Such a translation is readily interpreted so that God (the Father) acted as an architect of the creation and he commanded Jesus Christ to carry out the creation of the world.

The NASB and many other translations correctly recognize that God the Father is the creator of everything. Not the Son of God but God Himself. The KJV says correctly that “God who created all things”, but adds to it “by Jesus Christ”. This means that Jesus existed as a co-worker of God in the creation of the world. What an absurd addition! God Himself says:

Jes 44:24 “This is what the LORD [Jehovah] says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself,

NASB Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, “I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself
And spreading out the earth all alone [or who was with me],

God the Father has created the physical world. The son of God is creating the coming new world.

KJV 1789 Eph 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: – The words “by Jesus Christ” are an addition to the Bible text, and they are not included in the original script(The Emphatic Diaglott, as well as The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament).

The text, therefore, should read: which from the beginning of the world had been hidden in God who created all things. This is how New American Standard Version translates this Eph 3:9. – As early as around the year 100 AD ,a booklet of the Christian faith called ”Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”,  which states: We thank you, Holy Father, for your holy Name which you have made to dwell in our hearts; and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which you have made known to us through Jesus your servant. Glory to you forever! You, Almighty Master, created everything for your Name’s sake…” (s.166).

Correctly translated, therefore, this verse should read:

Eph 3:9 And to make all men plainly see how this secret is administered; which has been hidden in Jehovah from the beginning of the ages, Who created all things.

Mat 15:13 But he [Jesus] answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” – Who are these ‘blind guides’ mentioned in Mat 15:14? We meet them in the churches of Christendom: For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the gospel of God? – Many seek to be enthusiastic teachers in congregations. What does Jacob mean by saying about the teachers? Jam 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more severely. – I interpret this so that the teachers have a strict responsibility; teachers should not offer their listeners human doctrines, but only stick to the word of the Bible.

– Jesus also warned of false christs and religious impostors.  Mat 24:24 (and Mar 13:22) For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

Heb 2:17 plainly tells us the following: For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might BECOME a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to Jehovah, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Jesus wanted to be seen as God and explained that he had to be God in order to atone for the sins of mankind. The Hebrews verse, however, prove to be quite different

Heb 2:17 Thus he had to become like his brothers in every way, so that he could be a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God and could atone for the people’s sins. – Jesus was born a man, he lived only as a man and died as a man after living a completely sinless life. If that were not the case, Jesus could not have redeemed mankind from sin. Jesus had to be a Job-like God-loving person who, through the Holy Spirit of God, would be able to resist Satan and to live his life the way God wanted and thereby also be able to give eternal life to the righteous in the final judgment.

But the Catholic fathers of the church wanted Jesus to be God. The problem arises when the Hebrew scripture says that Jesus was to become like his brothers in every way. It was invented that Jesus was both human and God together (doctrine of dual nature).

In the above examples I have shown that the Catholic Church, as well as the Protestants and other Trinitarians, have attempted to falsify the word of the Bible. They did this by translating the Bible to support the doctrine of the deity of Jesus and his pre-existence in the heavens before his activities on the earth.

 

• Why was Jesus sent into the world?
• Pentecostal events
• In whose name did the apostles baptize?
• Bringing Christianity to the Gentiles
• The gospel proclaimed by Jesus and the apostles

 

Why was Jesus sent into the world?

When Jesus began his public ministry, he said he had only been sent to bring the lost sheep of Israel back to God. The idea that the gospel of salvation should also be brought to the Gentiles’ attention came to the apostles only after Jesus had died and ascended to heaven. Matthew is said to tell, according to the Bible (28:19), that Jesus, having risen but before ascending into heaven, had given a mission to take the gospel to all nations and also to baptize people; “Therefore, as you go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

In my earlier post, I show that this is a forgery and a later addition to the Bible. In this article, I also show that the apostles had not changed their minds about the Gentiles, but considered it inappropriate even to socialize with them. For this reason, it did not occur to them to go and convert them into Christians and baptize them as Matthew claims to have written.

Mat 28:18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Therefore, as you go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Of course, even when Jesus was alive, there were converted jews. There were not very many of them, and no congregations were established outside Israel. The converts were wanted to be made Jews, and circumcision was fiercely demanded, even for adult minds.

As Jesus lived, he and the apostles were focused on preaching the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Missionary work took place in the tribal areas of Israel and only to the Israelites. As we know, the reception was grudging.

This command to disciple and baptize all the nations is in two parts. Before that, Jesus says that he has been given all power in heaven and on earth. He told the apostles, who had gathered to meet Jesus in Galilee after he was crucified, rose from the dead, but had not yet ascended into heaven. The apostles certainly listened to exactly what Jesus said and certainly believed what he said. Without the slightest seed of suspicion.

So, if Jesus really told the disciples to go out into the world to spread the word of the gospel, then surely the apostles would do so. Likewise, they would be willing to carry out Jesus’ command to baptize new believers in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. What happened?

 

Pentecostal events

Acts 2 tells of Pentecost soon after the apostles had met Jesus in Galilee and received from him during forty days further instructions concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 1). Then, on Pentecost, a large crowd in addition to the apostles had gathered in Jerusalem.

Acts of the Apostles:

2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, all of them were together in one place.

2 Suddenly, a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.

3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated, and one rested on each of them.

And then:

4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them that ability.

Peter spoke to his listeners from different countries, but each received testimony in their own language. Peter said in Acts 2:36: “Therefore, let the entire house of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”

The Bible describes how the listeners “were pricked in heart” and asked Peter for advice, “what should we do”? Peter counseled, verse 38: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.”

Verse 41 says that the baptism was taken by about three thousand Gentiles who came from different countries. But, but… Why did the apostles still not keep Christ’s command to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit?

 

In whose name did the apostles baptize?

The apostles and members of the Jerusalem congregation continued to follow Jewish customs even after Lord Jesus ascended to heaven. Peter also strictly followed the commandments of the law on food, washing, and ritual purity. Paul rebuked Peter for hypocrisy because Peter refused to eat with the Gentiles (Gal 2:13). Paul seemed, perhaps the only one of the apostles, to understand the purpose of Jesus. Gal 2:16 “we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.  We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for no human being will be justified by the works of the law.

Peter received the command to disciple and baptize in a heavenly vision only after Jesus had ascended into heaven. The Jews and the apostles with them still believed that the Gentiles, as unclean. Even Peter thought that “it is unlawful for a Jewish man to socialize with a stranger or to go to him.” However, Peter changed his mind, saying, “God has shown me that I should stop calling anyone common or unclean,” (Acts 10:28). Note that Peter still disregarded the alleged command to baptize in the name of the Triune God but continued to baptize the Gentiles only in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:48). 

Peter received the vision described below three times in a row.

Acts 10:11 “and saw heaven open and something like a large linen sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the ground.

12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air.

13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.”

14 But Peter said, “Absolutely not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean!”

15 Again a voice came to him a second time, “You must stop calling unclean what God has made clean.”

16 This happened three times; then the vessel was taken up to heaven.”

It was not a question of eating instructions. Peter could interpret the meaning of the vision. After receiving this vision, Peter was the first of the apostles to understand God’s purpose that his words should also be taken to the Gentiles.

 

This vision was repeated to Peter three times. Peter finally understood that the reptiles and other disgusting animals in the vision depicted pagan peoples. Peter understood that God does not care from which people a person comes and explains to Cornelius, the Roman centurion:

Acts 10:34 “Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “Now I understand that God shows no partiality,

35 Indeed, the person who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him in any nation.

36 He has sent his word to the sons of Israel and brought them the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. This man is the Lord of everyone. ;

37 You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached.

38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil because God was with him.

39 We are witnesses of everything he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They hung him on a tree and killed him.

40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,

41 not to all the people, but to us who were chosen by God to be witnesses and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

42 He also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

43 To him all the prophets testify that everyone who believes in him receives the forgiveness of sins through his name.”

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all the people who were listening to his message.

45 Then the circumcised believers who had come with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too.

46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,

47 “No one can stop us from using water to baptize these people who have received the Holy Spirit in the same way that we did, can he?”

48 So he [Peter] ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for several days.”

The next episode describes the missionary work that began in the fringes of the Mediterranean and is depicted in later chapters of the Acts of the Apostles:

19:1 “It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul passed through the inland districts and came to Ephesus. He found a few disciples there.

2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered him, “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”.

3 He then asked, “Then into what were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.”

4 Then Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

Paul also baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and as proof that baptism was appropriate, the baptized received the Holy Spirit (19:6) just as they did on Pentecost.

These facts show that the baptismal command in Matthew 28:19 to the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is a later addition. Its motive is also clear: to instill the doctrine of the Triune God in Christians. You should note that the increase did not occur during the life of the apostles, but sometimes a hundred or two hundred years later. I have not studied church history in more detail in this regard. Well, this addition has done its job successfully, unfortunately.

The hard preaching of Christianity by the apostles began to bear fruit. Christians initially had difficulties because of persecution. Gradually the whole world knew Christ; “World” or the “whole world” meant at that time the Mediterranean littoral states. It took a long time to realize that the world was much larger, meaning that missionary work took its first steps. Christianity became more and more Catholic, although doctrinal disagreements began to emerge.

The apostles and the congregations after them waited for Christ to return. After all, he had promised to return ‘soon.’ Before he ascended to heaven, Christ described the position of the apostles in Israel; Mat 10:23 “So when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. For truly I tell you, you certainly will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

 

Bringing Christianity to the Gentiles

Jesus himself said that he had been sent to earth, not to take the word of Christianity to all nations, but only to bring the lost sheep of Israel back to God.

Luke 24:47 writes that Jesus commanded, “and that repentance and forgiveness of the sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” The above is from the last chapter of the Gospel of Luke, which tells about the resurrection of Jesus and his ascending into heaven. Luke himself was not a witness to the events but had gathered information from various sources. Therefore, I do not find his account as reliable as the other gospels.

There is one notable feature in Luke’s account. It shows that the apostles did not immediately follow Jesus’ commission – if that had happened in the first place. It took a long time, perhaps several years, before Peter received a revelation from heaven that led to missionary work.

The apostles and members of the Jerusalem congregation continued to follow Jewish customs even after Lord Jesus ascended to heaven. Peter also strictly followed the commandments of the law on food, washing, and ritual purity. Paul rebuked Peter for hypocrisy because Peter refused to eat with the Gentiles (Gal 2:13). Paul seemed, perhaps the only one of the apostles, to understand the purpose of Jesus. Gal 2:16 “we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.  We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for no human being will be justified by the works of the law.

The apostles and Jews in general also strongly opposed everything to do with the Gentiles. Mere socializing, such as inviting Gentiles to their homes or visiting their homes, was a wholly excluded idea. Jesus himself and the apostles thus preached to the Jews in Israel. Even the Samaritans living nearby did not want to spread the word of God about the crucifixion of Jesus. In Jerusalem, Peter was rebuked in the Church and told, “They said, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!” (Acts 11: 3) Peter told what he had testified about what had happened in Caesarea: “Acts 11:15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he had on us at the beginning.” This reassured the audience.

The command to take the word of God to all nations was not given to the apostles in a meeting with Jesus in Galilee, but only after Jesus ascended to heaven, and Peter had three times a vision of heaven. The vision of Peter is registered in Acts 10, cf. above.

On Pentecost, when three thousand people from different countries had gathered in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit was poured out on everyone. It was evident that even this was not enough for the apostles to realize that faith and salvation are possible for all nations.

At first, the Church in Jerusalem did not approve of the idea that the word of God should be taken to unclean Gentiles. However, Peter succeeded in convincing the elders of the Church, and Paul, whom Jesus had forcibly converted, was commissioned to begin a mission to the Gentiles.

As Peter continued to speak to the people of Cornelius, the Holy Spirit came upon all the hearers. The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles as well. Then said Peter, “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

10:48 “And he [Peter] commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

Further, therefore, the people of the nations were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, not in the name of the Triune God, as the Bible verse 28:19 commands. How is it possible that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the baptized, even though they had not been appropriately baptized, that is, according to the (alleged) instructions of Christ?

My interpretation is that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit proves that the practice of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ was the right thing to do.

When I argue that the whole verse is a later addition, why would it have been done? There is no command in the Bible to baptize in the name of the Triune God and no testimony of the Triune God at all.

Preaching the Kingdom of God and testifying Christ proceeded according to the Bible. Congregations were established around the Mediterranean.

 

The gospel proclaimed by Jesus and the apostles

Galatians:

1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that person be accursed!

9 What we have told you in the past I am now telling you again: If anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that person be condemned [anathema let him be].

The Epistle to Galatia states with particular emphasis that the gospel proclaimed by Christ and the apostles is the only true and unchanging one. Jesus preached about the Kingdom of God and at the same time healed “all manner of sickness and sickness.” In addition to the Kingdom of God, the content of the apostles’ sermons included the gospel of Jesus Christ. Listeners were offered the opportunity to be baptized.

Acts 10:42 He [Christ] also ordered us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this is the one ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead.

43 To him all the prophets testify that everyone who believes in him receives the forgiveness of sins through his name.”

So, if the Gentiles believe in Jesus, they will be forgiven of their sins. The last judgment will save him, who is forgiven for his sins. Forgiveness of sins is promised to all who believe. The problem is that not everyone believes. Many have not even had the opportunity to believe when “they have not even heard of this Jesus.”

The Gospel of Matthew:

9:35 Then Jesus began traveling through all the cities and villages [in Israel], teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness.

Acts of the Apostles:

5:42 Every day in the temple and from house to house they kept teaching and proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ.

8:12 But when Philip proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and of the name of Jesus Christ, men and women believed and were baptized.

8:16 Before this he [Holy Spirit] had not come on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Paul speaks in Ephesians about the mystery of Christ. What does he mean by this secret? It is clear from verse 6.

Eph 3:3 and how this secret was made known to me through a revelation, just as I wrote about briefly in the past.

4 By reading this, you will be able to grasp my understanding of the secret about Christ,

5 which in previous generations was not made known to human beings as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s  holy apostles and prophets::

6 The Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow sharers of what was promised in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 I have become a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power.

8 To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given so that I might proclaim to the Gentiles the immeasurable wealth of Christ.

The promise of verse 6 was certainly a revolutionary idea at one time. The Gentiles are offered the same as the Jews; participation in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. This promise clearly means that through faith in Christ, Gentiles have an equal opportunity to be saved. The possibility is the same as for Jewish believers in Christ, no better, no worse. You can be saved through faith.

I have looked for a passage in the New Testament that tells us baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to Matthew 28:19. There is no one at all. But more and more people had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Christ). There are two options: the apostles rebelled against Christ and therefore refused to keep the baptismal command they received. Another possibility is that such a command to baptize was never given, and Mat 28:19 is a later addition whose authors have overlooked many passages in the Bible where baptism is performed solely in the name of the Lord Jesus (Christ).

 

Conclusions:

The Baptismal Commandment: The wording of the baptismal commandment in the alleged verse written by Matthew is not found anywhere else in the Bible. Baptism into the “name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” occurs only once in the entire New Testament, in this verse in Matthew 28:19. However, baptism was an important practice when new members were recruited to the congregations. So why was the last commandment of Christ not kept in baptism? Either the apostles were rebellious, or Jesus did not give them such a commandment at all. Still, in the absence of any other instruction, the apostles considered it best to baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus (Christ). Which option are you in favor of?

I agree with the notion that this verse added to Matthew’s name was added later to provide the Bible with biblical verses defending the doctrine of Triune God. Let’s try to find at least one other verse in the Bible that contains the words “Father and Son and Holy Ghost.” These words cannot be seen together.

Mission Command: There is another command in that Matthew verse. “Go ye therefore, and make all nations my disciples.” Is this how Christ gave this commandment? I justify my suspicion as follows. The apostles and their fellow Jewish believers, not to mention the Jews who resorted to the old Covenant of Laws, alienated all contact with the Gentiles. These were not only servants of idols but also unclean in any case. So, no socializing with the Gentiles! Had Jesus given the command to take the gospel of God to the Gentiles, wouldn’t the apostles have changed their attitude?

It took God’s vision from heaven to Peter — three times — before Peter believed. After all, such a vision would not have been necessary if Jesus had explained God’s will that everyone is equal before God. Jesus did not do this because he was a keeper of the Old Covenant all his life. It was only just before his crucifixion that he proclaimed the New Covenant. God gave Peter a vision that made it possible to change the mindset and, as a result, take the gospel to the Gentiles.

Proverbs say 30:5 “Every word of God is guaranteed; he is the shield of those who take refuge in him. 6 Do not add to his words or he will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar.

Trinity: Did you get the impression from this article that I don’t believe in the ‘Trinity’ at all? Meaning that the godhead is not composed of three? Of course, I believe that the deity (godhead) is three or triune if you prefer. What the Bible means, I that God the Father is the only God. He has made his human Son Lord and Christ and given him eternal life. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to perform the duties assigned to him. The Father is God alone, the Son is the Lord, to whom the Father has given all authority both in heaven and earth. It is new knowledge to many that the Son is also a man in heaven. In heaven, all these three persons are spirits, as are the angels.

 

 

• Foreword
• Formation of the Bible canon
• What is the word of God?
• On Bible Interpretation: Figurative and literal expressions in the Bible
• Is God really almighty
• Is God omniscient?
• God gave the domination of the world to Satan
• War in heaven
• Similarities between Christianity and ancient pagan religions
• Parallels of the Old Testament
• Ethical teachings
• The similarities between the Egyptian book Amenemope and the Bible
• The Evolution of Catholic Heresy: The Doctrine of the Trinity
• The creed of Athanasius
• Why don’t I believe in the Triune God? God is one.
• Jesus Christ the Son of God, man:  The deity of Jesus
• The two natures of Jesus
• What does it mean that Jesus is a man in heaven too?
• A description of Jesus by Josephus Flavius
• How does Satan try to mess up the Word of God?
• Why has God tolerated Satan for so long?
• What will be the future of man?
• What if you believe wrong?
• Is the Bible concealed?

 

The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments is everlasting. (Psa 119:160)

Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth. (Joh 17:17)

 

Foreword  

The impetus for this writing was given to me by Professor V.T. Aaltonen’s paper “Christianity and Old Pagan Religions – Why Didn’t I Become a Christian?” Maybe I, too, wouldn’t have become a believer if I had once read that scripture. It presents facts – correct information for sure – that can be interpreted as meaning that Christianity is just a collection of copies of beautiful, religious, time-bound principles presented around the world. Here I am dealing with a matter on which I did not have any idea.

I once thought of the Bible as an utterly God-inspired word. Gradually, I began to suspect that not all of the Bible’s stories were the pure and infallible Word of God. Today, I cannot determine whether an individual book of the Bible is such a word of God. So, I have defined for myself, as the Word of God in the Old Testament, those books of the Bible in which the author says that “this word of God came unto me.” There are numerous such verses, one of many, for example, Eze 3:16″ It happened at the end of seven days, that the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying.” 

Indeed, in my Bible studies, I have focused primarily on the New Testament. I believe it is, as a rule, entirely the Word of God conveyed by Jesus and his apostles. Of course, these also include – in relation to the whole – some questionable passages and some obvious addition, which a Catholic scribe has made with good intentions, apparently “to clarify the obscure message of the Bible.”

When copying Old Testament books, the scribes were extremely meticulous to ensure correctness. Copy errors are extremely rare. As for the New Testament, no one controlled the copying work in this way and none of the originals have been preserved. Manuscripts could have copying errors or additions, or other changes for a variety of reasons.

Then there is another important reason that causes Bible readers a headache: what is the proper translation, and how should it be interpreted? Immediately after the apostolic period, the Catholic Church sought to have a decisive position in defining the only correct and accepted content of the Bible. They claimed, and probably still claim, to be a descendant of the authority of Peter and the apostolic Church-approved by God. Indeed, for almost 1,500 years, the Catholic Church has been dominant in interpreting the Bible. Under the influence of Luther and other Reformers, the explanation of the Bible took on new features, but the actions of both were otherwise similar; both sought to make their perception available to the public by force. If you disagreed with the given understanding of the Bible, you were denied the opportunity to be saved, and on top of all that, you could lose your life as a heretic by burning.

 

Formation of the Bible canon  

How are the scriptures in the Bible chosen? Are the Scriptures in the Bibles of all churches the same? Who has decided which scriptures will be accepted into the Bible? How do we know if the scriptures chosen in the Bible are the Word of God and accepted by God?

There is a greater consensus on the Old Testament than on the New Testament. I recently watched a TV show about Qumran’s findings. New writings from about 200 BC have been found and mentioned, e.g., a description of Abraham and his wife Sarah. These Qumran texts gave more detailed information than the brief description of the Old Testament to date.

As for the New Testament, the situation is more confusing. Someone argues that the first two chapters of Matthew are a later addition. Many of the writings of the NT are suspected of being written by some disciples of the apostles instead of the apostles themselves. Some people think that the Gospel of Thomas should have fit into the New Testament and so on.

The canon, that is, the scriptures accepted by the Roman Catholic Church, differs from those accepted in the Bible by the Protestants. The body of New Testament scriptures began to be formed as early as the second century. The writings that belonged to it were to be of apostolic origin, commonly used and accepted by the churches. It must have been carefully examined that there were no heresies in circulation in the writings. First, the four gospels and the epistles of Paul were qualified. After all, there was still controversy until the 4th century. The book of Revelation and the book of Hebrews were the subject of particular debate. As late as the 16th century, Luther did not want the Book of Revelation to belong to the Bible because he did not understand it.

Its own chapter is still the effect of different translations and interpretations of the Bible. In this writing, it is not my intention to address these different versions of the Bible and their correctness. I don’t have that kind of qualifications either. I will only say to Bible readers: always be cautious about what you read and believe. Compare different translations and their explanations using the translation versions available on the Internet.

 

What is the Word of God?  

Let us consider the significance of different translations for the formation of biblical truth. I firmly believe that it is challenging to find a completely neutral and truth-seeking Bible translation. I have to check the wording of the translations from the different translation versions and the meanings of the words used in them, for example, from Strongs’ explanatory work. It does the job, but it is behind hard work.

Some books of the Old Testament may be the Word of God, so I believe if it says like this, “this word of God came to me,” etc. The purpose of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) is likely to show that the similarity of the three gospels proves they are true. 

Many believe that the Bible is even entirely written (dictated) by God Himself. As I began writing these “bibleconcealed” writings, I became familiar with the early 20th-century scientist Dr. Ivan Panin and his Bible analysis. There are articles about them at the beginning of my articles. Panin said he found a code repeated throughout all the scriptures, and that code proves the authenticity of the scriptures, i.e., their divine origin. Panin used about 50 years to calculate the numerical codes of words from the Hebrew and Greek scriptures. Many laugh at codes like this, and I can’t say I believe one hundred percent in Panin’s codes either. But: read what Panin wrote about the first words of the Bible “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” and what many codes can be found in it. So I can’t condemn outright this divine code.

Today, it seems fashionable to doubt all the truths and writings of the Bible. For example, the virgin birth of Jesus is a favorite destination for these skeptics.

As you read the Bible, I believe that the Holy Spirit of God will also reveal the truths of the Bible to you.

Paul’s instruction:

2 Tim 3:15″ From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to give you the wisdom you need for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 

 16 All Scripture is God-breathed [inspired by God] and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 

 

On Bible Interpretation: Figurative and literal expressions in the Bible  

If a biblical expression is figurative, it can be as true as a literal expression. That is just not literally true. The problem is twofold: we do not always recognize a biblical expression, whether it is a literal or a figurative expression. Another problem is often before us after finding an expression figurative; it means how it is to be interpreted.

To clarify the difficulty of the matter, I present some expressions, both literal and figurative. 

Examples of literal expressions:

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

However, when Timothy says that “God is one,” this passage is open to interpretation. The Unitarian says that this is what we have always said; there is no God but the Father, Jehovah. The believer in the Triune God explains: Just so, our God is one God, but he appears in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

“One mediator” does not cause interpretation problems. Sure, Catholics tear their hair and say that the author has forgotten another mediator, the Virgin Mary, who has also been elevated by the Pope to be the mother of God and who conveys believers’ requests to God. However, one is only one, and two mediators cannot be one!

What about the “man Jesus Christ“? Isn’t that a clear and undisputed expression? I would say yes, it is. However, one may ask, does this mean Jesus for the sake of his human nature according to the doctrine of two natures of Jesus?

The seeds of an interpretation dispute sprout almost anywhere.

Examples of figurative expressions:

Rom 13:14 Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not obey your flesh and its desires. 

2 Joh 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who don’t confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the Antichrist.

What does it mean to “clothe on”? Clothing on means receiving; receive Lord Jesus Christ. Or “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.” And what does “do not obey your flesh” mean? I could translate it into modern language like this: Don’t think about your physical (or the needs of your body) needs so that lusts awaken.

What about “coming in the flesh”? This means they do not recognize Jesus as the Christ who was to be born a human.

There are an incredible amount of figurative expressions in the Bible. Take, for example, the word “lampstand.” It’s probably a lamp holder or a candle holder. No, it isn’t. The Bible, perhaps exceptionally, explains what it is all about: Rev 1:20″ The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies [or churches]. The seven lampstands are seven assemblies [churches].”

What could be “olive trees”? This is also explained in the Book of Revelation: 11:3 I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing before the Lord of the earth.

Who might be the two end-time witnesses mentioned? I have written about it in a separate article.

The Bible is how it is read.

How do you read the following Bible verse? Mat 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, And shall bring forth a son. They shall call his name Immanuel; Which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” – I ask this because, in a Bible explanation blog, this is used as sure evidence of the deity of Jesus. Does it say that Jesus is God? Does “Immanuel” mean that Jesus is God and that he is with us?

Or, does the name given to Jesus mean that Jesus was born as a son of God and God, in giving his son into the world as its redeemer of sins, at the same time promised that God the Father would be with us in the name of Jesus Christ?

One should not be guilty of reading the Bible more than it reads. Nor should one ignore a word in the Bible without realizing that it says something very significant.

 

Is God really almighty?  

I found 59 mentions of God’s omnipotence in the Bible with a quick search in eleven different books.

A few examples:

Joel 1:15″ Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is at hand, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.“

– Even Joel prophesied of the Day of the Lord, saying it was near. The speed seems to be very relative. After all, also Christ promised to come back soon. Even the book of Revelation speaks of the coming war on a great day of the almighty, which thus means a time of great tribulation at the end of time. Rev 16:14 “for they are spirits of demons, performing signs; which go forth to the kings of the whole inhabited earth, to gather them together for the war of that great day of God, the Almighty.” – Almighty God primarily refers to God the Father, and the “great day of the Almighty” is the day of the war that will destroy God’s enemies in Harmaggedon.

The great day of Christ is the day when he physically comes to earth and rewards and punishes humanity.

So, is also Christ almighty? He is still a man in heaven. Could man be like God? God has given Christ all authority, both in heaven and on earth. The omnipotence of Christ is not the same as that of God the Father, who has always been omnipotent, but the omnipotence of Christ is acquired power, unlike the omnipotence of God; God has always been almighty. People will hardly ever become like Christ with all authority. While still on earth, however, Christ painted excellent prospects for the believing people.

However, some Bible accounts give rise to the question of why God does not use his omnipotent powers by resolving the situations presented in the Bible simply using His Word. Consider, for example, the use of force to overthrow the walls of Jericho and its intricacies needed. Or the story of winning reinforced chariots.

At the end of the book of Revelation is a characterization of Almighty God and Christ. 21:22,”And a sanctuary I did not see in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, is its sanctuary, and the Lamb.” Read carefully! It could be understood even like this: Almighty God is its temple. The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, is part of this temple with God.

Whereas until now the temple of God has meant a physical building, often still as fine and decorated as possible, now the temple takes on a new meaning; God himself and Christ are the temple of the people saved at the Last Judgment in the New World! What does it mean? It means that people have a direct connection to both God the Father and Jesus Christ. Today, God and his sons will hear when a man approaches them in prayer. However, neither God nor Christ responds in the way that man would want to. In the new world, however, God promises to respond as the man approaches him. Isaiah 65:24  “It shall happen that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”

 

Is God omniscient?  

God has made wrong decisions. This can be said from the fact that God says he regrets certain decisions. The omniscience of God includes knowing all in advance; did not God know in advance that not everything went according to his plan?

Are the details of repentance reliable, and has the prophet writing about them received the information from God?

Genesis:  6:6 Jehovah repented that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.

Exodus:  32:14 Jehovah repented of the evil which he said he would do to his people.

1 Samuel: 15:35 Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Yahweh repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

2 Samuel:  24:16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, Jehovah repented him of the evil, and said to the angel who destroyed the people, It is enough; now stay your hand. The angel of Jehovah was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

Jeremiah:  26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Didn’t he fear Jehovah, and entreat the favor of Jehovah, and Jehovah repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus should we commit great evil against our own souls.”

Amos: 7:3 Jehovah has repented of this, `It shall not be,’ said Jehovah.

Jonah:  3:10 God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God repented of the evil which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.

Deuteronomy: 4:19 and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Jehovah your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.

This last verse tells what the Israelites knew; they were God’s chosen people and everyone else was allowed to worship the celestial bodies. God, too, must have repented of his choice because his people often rebelled and turned to serve idols. However, God has kept His Word, if not otherwise, but “for the sake of the fathers” (Rom 11:28).

 

God gave the world domination to Satan.  

God punished Adam and Eve for disobedience in paradise and, as a punishment, drove them out of there and removed their immortality, making them ordinary mortals. Well, in that respect, not quite common because they still lived for hundreds of years outside of paradise.

God did not punish Satan, who had enticed Adam and Eve into sin in the form of a serpent. Their sin was that they ate from the tree that God had forbidden to eat. Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan’s promise that they would have the ability to distinguish between good and evil. Adam and Eve were thus utterly ignorant of such a thing. Perhaps they were so ignorant that they did not understand the consequences of their actions; what did it mean that they would surely die?

How do we know that God gave the domination of our world to Satan? Jesus Christ himself acknowledged that Satan had received the world. Who else could have given it to Satan other than God the Father himself? So I have asked, at the latest in this situation, shouldn’t God have destroyed Satan and his followers? Satan tried to seduce Christ himself by promising Christ the kingdom of the world, which means the place of the second man immediately after Satan. Jesus remained faithful and sent Satan in his way. Satan was angry and, according to Peter, traveles around the world mad like a lion looking for someone to swallow (1 Peter 5: 8).

The Bible verses that confirm what I have written are so unbelievable that many people know nothing about it. I have never heard any learned clergyman talk about it. If I had told this to my grandmother, she would have refused to believe it, saying, “Don’t you son talk crazy.” This is what my grandmother told me when I told her Jesus had brothers and sisters. People’s ignorance of Bible truths is incredibly great.

A believer should stay in his faith and resist the temptations of Satan. However, I ask: why has God made faith so difficult and the world so full of attractions of sin? Even at the end of the days, “For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 The 2:11). Is it not enough for Satan and his forces to mislead humanity? I would think that God sends people the Word of Truth to strengthen their faith – not send a delusion? I understand this so that God will test his own and thus sift the grains from the chaff.

Who now rules the world today, God or Satan?

Satan was a high-ranking angel of God in heaven. 

Eze 28:14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers: and I set you, so that you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”

15 “You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.

16 By the abundance of your traffic they filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned: therefore I have cast you as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed you, covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness: I have cast you to the ground; I have laid you before kings, that they may see you.”

Ezekiel calls Satan a cherub who was anointed by God, anointed just like Jesus. Angels, especially the angelic princes of God, are called anointed by the Bible. There are only a small number of these anointed angels. They have the right to enter the face of God in heaven.

Satan was proud of his beauty. He was dressed in sparkling gems. This is a figurative expression of the splendor that surrounds him. After all, angels are spirit beings and do not wear garments adorned with precious stones. Satan’s destiny was to be proud of his own beauty, and his heart became full of violence.

Verse 17 tells how God threw Satan into the earth. This is a figurative prediction of the future. The expulsion of Satan from heaven to earth occurs when the war is fought in heaven. Until then, Satan will have access to God in heaven.

I ask this: why did God not immediately punish Satan when his transgression was discovered? Would this be an explanation for why God has been so long-suffering about Satan’s rebellion?

 

War in heaven  

John records in the Book of Revelation a vision of the war in heaven between the hosts of heaven, led by angel Michael against the forces of Satan. This scripture was written at the end of the first century when Christ was resurrected in heaven for about 60 years.

Verse Rev 12:5 tells of the birth of a boy child who will “rule all nations with an iron scepter.” It is Mary’s mother, and her son is Jesus Christ himself. In the same verse, events progress rapidly: “her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” This is how the Bible says it happened.

The Bible account does not proceed logically. Verse 6 goes back to the time of the birth of the child. “The wife fled into the wilderness.” This is what Joseph and Mary had to do. They fled the persecution of Herod into Egypt.

And then the story jumps to another time and new events in heaven: It is a great and decisive war between the angels of Michael and the angelic hosts of Satan. Verses 8 and 9 explain the outcome of the war: 8 “They [Satan’s forces] didn’t prevail, neither was a place found for him any more in heaven. 9 The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”

What can we conclude from this account? The events are described in a few verses. Significant events affecting all of humanity do not proceed straightforwardly in the report. Read the following verses. After that, I will comment further and share my own views on how to interpret the war.

Rev 12:3 “Then another sign appeared in the sky: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on its heads. 

4 Its tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky and threw them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it could devour her child when it was born.  

5 She gave birth to a son, a boy, who is to rule all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne.                           

6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where a place had been prepared for her by God so that she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.                                                   

7 Then a war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels fought back.

8 But it was not strong enough, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

9 The huge dragon was thrown down. That ancient serpent, called devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world, was thrown down to the earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. 

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now the salvation, the power, the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ have come. For the one accusing our brothers, the one who accuses them day and night in the presence of our God, has been thrown out.”

The great dragon, or Satan, was cast onto the earth in John’s vision. Did this happen in real-time when John saw his vision? Or had it already happened before? Or was it a vision of the future?     

When will there be a war in heaven? The above verses relate to this issue, which I have considered in a separate article. However, I will state here the result of my reflections.                     

I have interpreted the rest of the story, the throwing of Satan and his host on earth in the future, during the last days. We are now living these last days and waiting for the promise of verse 5 to be fulfilled. That means the Second Coming of Christ and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom. Christ will rule the world with an iron scepter. However, that has not yet happened. 

In my interpretation, I pay particular attention to the following promise: “Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ; (v. 10). 1) Now is come the salvation and power AND 2) Now is come the Kingdom of our God AND 3) the authority of his Christ.                                                                  

What does it mean that salvation and power have come?

Where does it come to, or where has it come from? Hardly does the vision mean heaven and its angels. Salvation has come onto the earth. Whose power? He who comes to earth with his power is [the salvation and power of ] Christ. This has not taken place. We are still waiting for this to happen.

The kingdom of God has come and existed in heaven for ages and ages. There can be no question about that. The promise in verse 10 of the coming of the kingdom of God means the coming of the kingdom of God to earth. It will be realized when the power of God’s anointed one, Christ, is discovered on earth when He establishes the Millennial Kingdom and rules the Gentiles with the Iron Scepter (v.5) 

All three principles, namely, salvation and power, as well as the kingdom of our God and the realization of the power of his anointed, must be fulfilled after Satan is cast out of heaven. All the conditions must therefore be met for the outcome of the war in heaven to be realized.

One who thinks differently can justify his view, for example, as follows: Verse 10 has already been fulfilled in such a way that the kingdom of God will rule in heaven without Satan being entangled there. The power of God’s anointed had come true at the moment when God gave Christ all power, both in heaven and on earth.

 

Similarities between Christianity and ancient pagan religions   

The following comments are part of many similar ones included in the book written by Prof. V.T. Aaltonen in 1952.

“Beliefs such as the Holy Trinity, the Savior who became man, the virgin birth, the Second Coming, the sacraments, the communion of the saints, etc. are or have been widely accepted in the Gentile world, regardless of the influence of Christianity. And what do we say when we learn that the “Ten Commandments” have been known for a few millennia before God gave them to Moses. “

Surprising information!

 

The Similarities of the Old Testaments with the pagan religions  

As for the creation account, according to the Zend-Avesta of the Parish scriptures, Ormuzd created the world and man in six eras in the following order: heavens, waters, earth, trees and plants, animals, and man. After the Creator had done his work, he rested.

The Persian legend tells of the Fall after creation in much the same way as the Old Testament. The prince of the evil spirits sent Satan in the form of a serpent to offer the first people the fruit of the miraculous tree that guaranteed immortality, and they fell into temptation. The Babylonians knew the same legend about the creation and fall into sin at least 1,500 years earlier than the Hebrews.

The account of the great flood has also been widespread before it was known to the Hebrews.

The Old Testament account of the Tower of Babel is also a loan from the Chaldeans. The same fable was felt by Hindus, Mexicans, and others.

As for the tables of law that Moses received from God on Mount Sinai, there is an older legend about the sun god Bacchus, which also tells us that this God’s law was written on two stone tablets. The part of the Bible story about God on the mountain is borrowed from a Persian legend. Zoroaster is told that while he was praying on a high mountain one day, the Lord appeared to him in the thunder and the blazing of bolts of lightning and gave him the “book of the law.”

Three days in the belly of a fish. Among other things, a Hindu tale tells of a man named Saktideva, who fell into the sea when a large fish swallowed him. The fish caught the fishermen’s gear and when they opened its stomach, Saktideva came out unharmed. A Greek fairy tale tells us that a whale swallowed Hercules near Joppa and that Hercules was in the belly of a whale for three days.

Savior stories. Stories of gods who became human have been common in pagan religions in ancient times. These saviors have laid the foundation for the salvation of mankind and, having completed their work of salvation, ascended back to heaven. Many have been born from virgins and many have been crucified. The virgin birth of gods, saviors, etc., has long been a common phenomenon.

Stopping the Sun. The Greek Bacchus is said to have stopped the movement of the sun and moon, and the Buddha’s disciples are often mentioned to have performed this miracle. The same myth has been known among ancient Chinese and Mexicans.

In ancient Egypt, it is mentioned that the God Horus was born of a virgin. Other similarly born are Krishna, Buddha, Attis, Romulus, Hercules, Perseus, Eskulapius, Dionysus, Quetzalcoatl, Mithra, Zoroaster, Osiris, Confucius, Fo-Hi, Plato, Pythagoras, and Ptolemaeus.

Similar prophecies about the Messiah as in the Old Testament are found in many holy scriptures of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Mexican, and other peoples.

It is common for angels, shepherds, and sages to appear at the birth of saviors and for their stars to then appear in heaven. For example, at the birth of Confucius, “five wise men came from afar, heavenly music was heard from the clouds, and angels appeared.” – The ancient peoples had a common faith, and this faith has still not completely disappeared, that the celestial bodies or their inhabitants influenced the birth and life of men on earth. Man’s good or bad fortune was believed to depend on the presence of good or bad stars at the time of his birth. For example, Zoroaster informs “wise men” that “there will be a Savior, of whom the star will announce in the afternoon”.

Long before the birth of Jesus, December 25 was celebrated as the birthday of Gods and the Saviors of many Gentiles: Bacchus of Egypt, Bacchus of Greece, Adonis, Krishna, Changi, Horus, Osiris, Buddha, Mithra, Sakia, etc. These were born on that day, which was a universal Roman holiday, and from the fourth century onwards, this pagan holiday then gradually became the Christmas Day of the Christian Church. In 534, the Pope ordered Jesus to be born on December 25th.

Killing Baby boys to destroy the Savior has also been a common myth in many ancient peoples. For example, to have Krishna killed, the Indian King Kansa commanded: “Seek all the little children, and mercilessly kill every boy who shows some signs of greatness.” Just as Joseph and his family fled to Egypt, it is also said that, e.g., Krishna’s parents escaped to Gokul with their savior children.

Satan also tempted others than Jesus: he also tempted, e.g., Buddha, Zoroaster, and Quetzalcoatl of Mexico. Satan promised Buddha all the kingdoms of the world, but the Buddha told Satan like Jesus to “go away from me.” In other fables, Satan fails in the same way.

The dead have been raised by: Krishna, Horus, Marduk, Eskulapius, etc. The same gods have performed many other miracles, healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, etc. The Greek Bacchus turned water into wine. Dionysus likewise turned the water into wine and rode two donkeys to the temple of Dodona like Jesus to Jerusalem. Poseidon walked on the surface of the water, and the Buddha flew across a river. Pythagoras walked in the air and on the surface of the water, “threw out devils,” and raised a few dead. The Hindu Sakia (c. 600 BC) is said to have started teaching and healing the sick at 28. “The blind saw, the deaf heard, the dumb spoke, the paralyzed walked, and the lame healed,” just as Jesus did.

The “Savior” as the Atonement for human sins was a doctrine known in many ways before Jesus. The poet Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD) says, “If you are guilty, why should another die for you? How absurd is it to expect salvation from the death of another?” According to Alfred Loisy (The Birth of the Cristian Religion), the idea of having a son of God as the savior of the world is essentially Greek. The Levant Greeks had rooted in an old agricultural-based devotion to the renewal of life in the new year after the dead winter, and this renewal was understood as a person. It was the fruit of the marriage between earth and heaven through the spring sun and rain; son of God and earthly virgin; a child who becomes a king who, by disposing of the dead waste of the past, makes everything new.

Several natural phenomena and other events observed in connection with the crucifixion of Jesus are also said to have occurred during the death of the pagan gods. Thus, for example, when Krishna died, the sun darkened, and fire and ash rained from the sky. When the Buddha died, there was a massive earthquake and thunder rumbled in the sky. A solar eclipse accompanied the death of Osiris and Caesar and when Prometheus died the earth shook, the tombs opened, etc. 

Many pagan gods are reported to have risen from the dead on the third day of death. Such are e.g. Horus, Osiris, Chris, Quirinus, Prometeus, Quetzalcoatl, Atys and Mithra. They went to hell, e.g. Krishna, Zoroaster, Osiris, Horus, Adonis, Bacchus, Hercules, and Quetzalcoatl. The more than 3,000 year-old holy Hindu book says that Krishna “went to hell to address those in the prison of darkness with a view to getting them converted and led back to heaven, and he wanted to shorten their punishment by his own suffering.” After all, Krishna was “glorified” like Jesus, and after his resurrection, he appeared to his disciples. In general, the stages of Krishna’s life, in particular, are astonishingly similar to those of Jesus.

At least Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Zechiah, Prometheus, Quetzalcoatl, Laozen, and Lao-Kiu are finally said to have “ascended into heaven.” The Greek historian Plutarch says that Romulus ascended to heaven in 713 BC.

The origin of the Lord’s Supper is pagan. Cicero mentions it and marvels at this, saying: “How can a man be so foolish to imagine what he eats is of God. 

 

Ethical teachings  

The teachings of Confucius (or Kung Fu, 551–479 BC)

The doctrine of Confucius is practical and entirely directed at this world. The main content is the requirement to love your closest ones by observing the so-called golden rule: “Don’t do to others what you don’t want them to do to yourself.”

When describing the merits of Christianity and especially about its stages of origin, Christianity is generally presented in an ethical relationship as a representative of a completely new view and as decisively nobler and higher religion as the old, so-called pagan religions. The fact is, however, that Christianity includes many influences and doctrines from pagan religions.

The spirit of the Confucian teachings is illuminated by e.g., the following quotations from ancient Chinese writings.

The ideas of Buddha are illuminated by e.g., the following excerpts from his teachings.

My doctrine makes no distinction between the high and the low, nor between the rich and the poor. It’s like heaven. It has space for everyone, and like waves, it washes everyone in the same way.

In whom love dwells, for him the whole world is but one family.

As a mother who cares for her only child, may your heart and soul be filled with boundless love for all creatures, large and small.

If there is anyone who wants to take care of me, let him go and take care of his sick friend.

A soldier who wins himself is nobler than one who wins thousands in a battle. (Comp. Prov. 16:32: “One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; One who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.”

The doctrine of Buddha knew no race, no gender, no caste, and no aristocratic clergy. It emphasized the equality of all people and the brotherhood of the human race. Buddhism has been called “Eastern Christianity.”

Krishna has said:

When the poor knock on your door, receive him and fulfill his request, for the poor are chosen by God.

Above all, have a love for your beloved ones. Do good for the sake of itself, without hoping for a reward.

Also interesting are e.g. the following similarities between the New Testament and the books of the Indian sacred Mahabharata and Manu.

Mat 7:3:” Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?” — Mahabharata: “A malicious man is quick to see defects in his neighbor, though they are as small as a mustard seed; but when he looks at himself, he does not see his own faults.”

Rom 12:21: “Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” — Mahabharata: “Win with gifts a man who never gives anything; bend an unreliable person with confidence; tame an enraged person with gentleness; and overcome the evil man with good.”

Luk 6:35: “Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.” — Mahabharata: “Not to offend anyone by thoughts, words or deeds, give to others, and be kind to everyone. This is a lasting duty of a good person. Noble people enjoy doing good without thinking of their own interests; when they do good to others, they do not expect to get anything back.”

Mat 22:39:” You must love your neighbor as yourself.” Luk 6:31:” Whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them.” — Mahabharata: “When agreeing to a request or rejecting a request, one’s best course of action is to treat one’s neighbor as oneself. The core of all righteousness is this: treat others as you would like to be treated. Do nothing to your neighbor that you would not want your neighbor to do to you afterwards.”

 

The similarities between the Egyptian book Amenemope and the Bible.  

Amenemope: “Turn your ear to what I say. And turn your heart to understand it. It is useful to hide it in your heart.”— Bible (Prov 22:17–18): “Turn your ear, and listen to the words of the wise. Apply your heart to my teaching. For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, If all of them are ready on your lips.”

Amenemope: “Don’t remove the landmark. Do not hoard one cubit of the land, and do not cross the border of a widow without permission.”— Bible: “Prov 22:28 Don’t move the ancient boundary stone, Which your fathers have set up. 23:10 Remove not a border of olden times, And into fields of the fatherless enter not,“

Amenemope: “Poverty is better in the hands of God than riches in the storehouse. Bread and a happy heart are better than riches and unrest.” – Bible: “It is better to have little fear of God than great riches with worries. It is better to have little food and love than a bull and hostility in a stable” (Apocrypha).

Amenemope: “How diverse are all your deeds! You created the world according to your wishes – people, cattle, everything on earth. You did the seasons. You have made a distant heaven shining from afar to ascend there and to return. The world is in your hands as you have done it. When you have risen, they live; when you adjust, they die. In you man lives.” Bible: Psa 104:24       “How many have been Thy works, O Jehovah, All of them in wisdom you have made, Full is the earth of your possessions. 19: He appointed the moon for seasons. The sun knows when to set. 27: These all wait for you, That you may give them their food in due season. 29: You hide your face: they are troubled; You take away their breath: they die, and return to the dust.”

About the ancient Egyptian religion, e.g. in his book “Prolegomena to Ancient History” (by Doane), Mahaffy states:

“There is hardly any significant idea in Judaism and Christianity that would not be matched by the faith of the ancient Egyptians. The evolution of one God into a trinity; the coming into the world of a caring god by being born virginally without a father; his struggle and his momentary defeat before the forces of darkness; his partial victory; his resurrection and reign in his eternal kingdom with the saints; his peculiarity, and yet his identity with the uncreated, incomprehensible father, whose form is hidden and who does not dwell in hand-made temples. All these theological concepts are included in the oldest religion in Egypt. The same is true of moral teachings and of the immortality of the soul and the final judgment, and so on. All this is contained in the rituals and morals of the Egyptians.”

“Even in ancient Mexico, a well-known land of human sacrifice, the doctrine of chastity was taught, which in many respects resembled the Christian doctrine of chastity. The clergy taught people to live in harmony, to bear their burdens with patience, to trust in God’s grace rather than their own merits, to appeal to adultery in the eyes and heart, and above all to feed the poor. 

The creed said: Dress the naked and feed the hungry whatever it costs you, for remember that they are the same flesh as you and people like you, and care for the sick, for they are the image of God. But, at the same time, everyone was told to acquire a slave to be sacrificed to God! 

“The Jewish historian Josefus (37–95 AD) mentions a Jewish sect when telling about the Essenes, that the idea of asceticism, as well as the proclamation of justice, peace and mercy, and other ideals of Christian chastity, was widespread in the ancient world long before the birth of Jesus.

The teachings of rabbinical chastity in the Jewish holy book of the Talmud show that there is nothing in the moral teachings of Jesus presented in the Gospels that were not known among the Jews before and that the parables of the Gospels are usually borrowed from rabbis, even in the moral and intellectual sense inferior of the Gospel writers.

The Jewish prayer Kadish, based, among other things, on the Babylonian prayer to the God Merodah, reads: “Our Father which art in heaven, be merciful unto us, O Lord our God. Hallowed be thy name, and blessed be thy remembrance above in heaven, and here in the earth beneath. Let your kingdom rule us, now and forever. The old holy men said, forgive all that they have broken against you. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and thou shalt reign in thy glory forever. 

“There are so many commonalities between Christianity and pagan religions in general that it can be said that Christianity, by its very essence, existed before Christ. This was once the conception of Augustine. He writes: Opera Augustini, I: “Such is the present Christianity, which is most blessed to know and follow, called by that name, but not because of the doctrine itself, which has that name; for the doctrine called Christianity has, in fact, been known since ancient times; it has existed from the earliest stages of the human race until Christ became in flesh, from which time that true religion that previously existed has come to be called Christianity.”

In the light of old pagan fables, the resurrection of Jesus feels like a very “natural” event. There was a common belief that the gods died and rose from the dead in the old days. A religion whose Savior had not risen from the dead would have had no say in competing with pagan religions, i.e., Jesus was “forced” to rise from the dead.

                                                

The evolution of Catholic heresy  

The doctrine of the Trinity       

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is not originally a Catholic invention but is borrowed from pagan religions. In the oldest Brahmanism, the Trinity occurs in the form of Brahma (Father), the Word, and the Holy Spirit. Later the Trinity was formed by Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

The triune deity has also been worshiped by Chinese and Japanese Buddhists, ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Mexicans, Peruvians, and so on. Plato (c. 400 BC) also understood divinity as a trinity: Agathon (supreme God or Father), logos (Word), and psyche (soul or Spirit).

Consolidation and strengthening of the position of the doctrine of the Trinity

The Council of Nicaea in 325, or the First Ecumenical Council of Bishops, was held in 325 in Nicaea in what is now Turkey. At that time, the Christian doctrine of the Trinity was formulated: “God is threeune — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons, but only one God. “I have written a separate article on the doctrine of the Trinity.

 

The Athanasian creed    

Bishop Athanasios (about 298–373) was one of the most famous great church fathers of the early Christian period, especially in the controversy against Arianism. He strongly defended the doctrine of the one essence of the Father and the Son.

Even then, at the beginning of the 4th century, the conference’s content included a solid effort to persuade the Catholic members of the Church to remain in the Church and follow the doctrine given to them by the Church. It was definitely expressed: “This is the catholic faith; which except a man believe truly and firmly, he cannot be saved.“

Since those times, the Catholic Church has kept its members in a tight grip through fear. If you reject the Catholic Church and its doctrine, you cannot be saved but will face eternal destruction, that is, the fire of hell.

However, there is no support for this doctrine in the Bible, so the Word of the Bible had to be interpreted and even directly falsified and verses added to the Bible.

1 John 5: 7 has previously been translated in this way (Young’s literal): “because three are who are testifying in the heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these the three are one. International standard translates this even today: 8 “the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and these three are one.” World English Bible, however: “the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one.”

1 Joh 5:20: The verse is difficult to interpret. Especially the end of the verse; who is the true God and what is the relation between eternal life and the true God? “We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know the true God. We are in union with the one who is true, his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” – Not a very good translation!

World English Bible translates: “We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” “This is the true God” cannot mean man; if it did, then it should continue, “he is.“

This verse is difficult to translate and quickly leads to misunderstanding. For translation, I break up the parts of the verse, and then we see what the ‘true God’ is all about. So: the Son of God has come; he has come to give us an understanding that we would know who the True is. – This part should not be unclear to anyone.

We can conclude that the Son of God does not speak of himself as true because he continues; We are in union with the true one, his Son Jesus Christ. 

The last sentence “he” is not the best translation option: Some translations translate the pronoun as “this” is true God and eternal life. What does it mean when you say “this is…”? 

I interpret the sentence so that the verse might as well read like this: “But we know that the Son of God is come, and has given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true; [When we know] the true God and his son Jesus Christ, this is the knowledge of God and eternal life.

This Bible verse is easy to understand in two ways. Therefore, I would not take it as an example to prove the Son of God to be the true God.

I agree with the author of an article who says that “God is eternal, having life in himself”. What does the author mean by saying that “others have received life from God“? Does he perhaps refer to angels? Or Jesus Christ himself? After all, God gave eternal life to his Son. When only God has always had eternal life, Jesus cannot be God because he received eternal life from His Father. This is evidenced by John 5:26,” For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he has granted the Son to have life in himself.”

One more example: Mat 28:19 is an addition: “Therefore, as you go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” How do I know this verse is an addition? First, the disciples did not obey Jesus, but soon after that, on Pentecost, thousands of new believers were baptized just in the name of the Lord Jesus. How very disobedient they were! Second: Jesus did not give such a commandment to his disciples. He said he had been sent solely because of the lost sheep of Israel. The disciples did not begin their mission to the Gentiles until a few years later when Peter received a heavenly vision three times before believing.

 

Why don’t I believe in the Triune God? God is one.  

I would gladly be a Trinitarian if this doctrine could be read from the Bible. The Bible teaches that our God the Father is one. Does the Bible teach that the Son, Jesus Christ, is a God person like Father? What about the Holy Spirit? Does the Bible teach that the Holy Spirit, like the Father and the Son, is equal in divinity?

The concept of the Triune God is perhaps an essential doctrine explaining the attribute of God. Isn’t it weird that this most crucial doctrine is not found in the Bible? Only through interpretation can you somehow find comprehensible grounds for this doctrine.

Instead, there are lots of Bible verses against the Trinity. For some reason, the proponents of the doctrine of the Triune God do not appeal to these verses but are silent about them. By these verses I mean e.g. the following:

Mar 12:29 “Jesus answered, The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. Also, Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.” Did you notice who recognized this? Jesus Christ Himself. This verse is from the creed and prayer of Israel. If God consisted of three, wouldn’t God have revealed this to Moses and the prophets? 

Joh 5:44 “How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and do not look for the praise that comes from the only God?”

Joh 17:3 “And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus Christ.”

1 Cor 8:6 “yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom everything came into being and for whom we live. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom everything came into being and through whom we live.”

Gal 3:20 “Now a mediator is not between one, but God is one.”

Eph 4:6 “one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all.”

1 Tim 2:5 “There is one God. There is also one mediator between God and human beings—a human, Christ Jesus.”

Jam 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. That’s fine! Even the demons believe that and tremble with fear.” 

Deu 6:4 “Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah;”

2 Kin 19:15 “Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh and said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sit above the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.” 

Mat 23:9 “And don’t call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ for you have only one Father, the one in heaven.” – Even in such a small matter, the Catholic Church does not obey the Word of the Bible. Priests are called fathers and the Pope is even the Holy Father.

According to the doctrine of the Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are all equal in divinity. I can accept Jesus as a God person, but he is not equal to God the Father. Isn’t this already evident from the Bible verses above? Jesus himself said that the Father is greater than he. Joh 14:28 “You have heard me tell you, ‘I am going away, but I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I am.”

The Catholic doctrine began to become steeled; in various ways, the rights of believers were restricted, their property confiscated, and they were persecuted for their doctrine. The Catholic Church, by its own decision, without any basis in the Bible, deprived the unbelievers of their property and even their lives.

Catholic and, since the 16th century, also Protestant movements have decided on the lives of believers. What could believers have done other than believe what the priests in the Church said? Ordinary people could not read and the Bible had specifically been hidden from them for almost 1,500 years. Printing and the translation of the Bible into the laymen’s language caused a stir, especially against Catholics. Martin Luther was an admired leading figure and is still at the forefront of the Protestant movement. Still, he, too, was fierce in nature and by no means right in every way. No wonder “Babylon the Great” survived.

The Bible says: Rev 18:4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,  Come out of her, my people, so that you don’t participate in her sins and suffer from her plagues.” – From where should we leave? The city and Church judged by God that will be destroyed: Rev 8:16, “saying, How terrible, how terrible it is for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and scarlet and was adorned with gold, gems, and pearls! ” 

The Catholic doctrine of the Triune God began to develop after the time of the apostles. Religion and the state merged into a Catholic state religion that held people in its iron grip. Already Paul warned of the times to come according to Act 20:29;”I know that when I’m gone savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock.”

The dark period in human history began, to which I also count the Reformation. Although they attacked the papacy with Luther at the forefront, they did not see the ‘beam’ in their own eyes but shed the blood of Christians as brutally. Jesus’ command to love both the neighbor and the enemy did not get through.

The Holy Spirit as part of the Triune God: The Holy Spirit was and is the Spirit of God; God accomplishes his will by the power of his Word and Spirit. After all, God is said to have seven different spirits. 

The Catholic Church held that the Holy Spirit is not only the Spirit of God, but a separate person of God who is equal to God the Father, the Creator of the world, and Jesus Christ. It took about 300 years of Jesus’ teaching that we have only one God, the Father, when Catholics who captured ecclesiastical power elevated the Holy Spirit to be one of the three persons of God.

According to my interpretation and belief, the Holy Spirit is “only” the power of God sent by God and by Jesus Christ to perform various tasks. The first task was to participate in creating the world. Gen 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”                               

Psa 33:6 “By the Word of Jehovah the heavens have been made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”  

 Psa 148:5 “They do praise the name of Jehovah, For He commanded, and they were created.”                 

How could the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be equal members of the Godhead? When the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and both the Father and the Son can give orders to the Spirit; it shows, in my view, that the recipient of the orders is not in the same position as the principal.                                                    

God was one, and God was alone when he created the world. There was no one but God, his Word, and his Spirit.

I have tried to find in the articles of the defenders of the Triune God a valid argument in favor of the doctrine of the Triune God. On a quick reading, they may seem justified, but when you have a closer look at the Bible verses to support them, one can only wonder how they see such grounds in them. There is no single verse that states that Jesus is God or even part of the Triune God. The same goes for the Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus Christ the Son of God, man  

The deity of Jesus  

God the Father has exalted his Son as Lord and Christ (Messiah) and given him all authority in heaven and earth. The concept of God includes that God is omnipotent; no one can give God power because he has always had it. The Son has all authority in heaven and on earth, which elevates him above all other spirits in heaven. It can be said that he has divine power. As proof of this, God the Father has placed the throne of his Son on the right side of his throne. The throne is a figurative expression. When the throne of Christ is to the right of God’s throne, it means that Christ is God’s “right hand.”

Paul described Jesus’ position in heaven: 1 Tim 2:5″ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 

Where is the throne of the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit? The Bible does not say a word about it.

I have read many different explanations of the doctrine of the Trinity. What they have in common is that they are not directly based on the Bible. The doctrine is explained referring to the Bible, but how is it possible that the central doctrine of faith is not explicitly found in the Word of God? The same way as the Bible repeatedly says, “God is one.” Then some go on to explain, “Yes one, but three persons.” It should be said: yes, yes, three persons, but only one of these is our God – the Father. Someone still excites: if Christ has all power in heaven as on earth, and he exercises divine power, though given, doesn’t this make him God?  

But, I ask: Can a man be God? [sta_anchor id=”17″ /]

 

The two natures of Jesus  

The concept of the Triune God also includes a doctrine called dyophisitism, which means that two natures, divine and human, exist in the person of Jesus Christ. He is not only man but also God. Such a doctrine developed by Catholics was necessary to explain how God could die on the cross.

Was Jesus on earth both man and God always according to the situation? No, Jesus was merely a man, the son of God. We know this from Jesus’ own testimony; God the Father gave him instructions on what to speak and by the power of the Father, Jesus performed many miracles. Joh 14:10 “You believe, don’t you, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own. It is the Father who dwells in me who does his works.” 

God the Father and Jesus can come to dwell in you and me as well. This is not a question of any dichotomous personality disorder. John wrote: 14:23 “Jesus answered him, If anyone loves me, he will keep my Word. Then my Father will love him, and we will go to him and make our home within him.”

Many do not know the biblical phrase that proves Jesus to be human even after his ascension to heaven: 1 Tim 2: 5″ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

 

What does it mean that Jesus is also a man in heaven?  

All in heaven are spirits. There will also be spirits of people saved in the Last Judgment. These people are strong in their faith and will access the mighty powers that Jesus described while on earth (Mat 17:20 and Luk 17:6).

Until then, Jesus will act as a mediator in heaven (1 Tim 2: 5). Catholics pray to the mother of Jesus, Mary, for the same purpose. However, Mary is dead in her grave, waiting for the resurrection. The Bible does not tell of the resurrection of Mary, but the Pope defines the position of Mary in heaven. Catholics also pray to the saints because the Catholic Church has elevated them to this value. They, too, are dead in their graves, waiting for the resurrection. How do I know? John also answers this: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 

Where is heaven? Many people imagine heaven to be somewhere on top of the clouds. From there, those who get to heaven look at their relatives left on earth. As I ponder this question, I have concluded that heaven is very close to us, but still very far away – in another dimension. This is hard to understand. I know it. The Bible is also guilty of giving a false impression when describing Jesus’ ascension to heaven. Similarly, Christ’s second coming with the angelic army will take place “from above the clouds.”

The book of Revelation describes God’s new world, the New Jerusalem. There are those who have been saved and received eternal life from God.

The book of Revelation tells how God himself descends from heaven down to men. There are the thrones of God and Christ: 22:3 “There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him.” – Thus, people should not dream of entering heaven because God descends from heaven “to earth.” That is, to the dimension in which the spirits of the saved people are. 

Rev 21:22″ I saw no temple in it, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” – Saved people do not worship God in a temple but have a direct connection to the Father and the Son.

 

A description of Jesus by Josephus Flavius  

According to Professor Eisler, Flavius Josefus’ original text reads as follows:

“At that time, there was a man if it is at all appropriate to call him human. His nature and appearance were human, but his appearance was more than human: he performed amazing miracles. But again, when I think of his earthly nature, I would not call him an angel (divine messenger).

And whatever he accomplished through the invisible power, he accomplished by Word and command. Others said of him: Moses, our first legislator, has risen from the dead and presented many healings and skills. Others thought God sent Jesus. However, he opposed the Law in many respects and did not follow the Sabbath according to the old custom. But on the other hand, he did nothing shameful; and he did not work by his hands, but acquired everything by the Word (i.e., the ‘Shemin’, or power of Word).

And many people followed him and listened to his teaching. And many souls were enthusiastic, assuming that through him the Jewish tribes could be delivered from the hands of the Romans.

He used to stay mostly on the Mount of Olives opposite the city. And there he also distributed his healings to the people. And there gathered with him about one hundred and fifty supporters and many other people. But when they saw the power that he accomplished with his Word all that he wanted, and when they expressed to him that he would go into the city and let the Roman forces and Pilate lose their heads and rule over us, he did not mock us.

And then when the matter was told to the Jewish leaders, they gathered at the high priest and said, ‘We are powerless and too weak to oppose the Romans. But because the bow is tensed, we want to go and tell Pilate what we’ve heard, and so we’re safe; so that he will not hear from others, and we will be deprived of our possessions, and we will be beheaded, and our children will be scattered all over the world. And they went and told Pilate.

So he sent and struck down many of the people. And he arrested that miracle worker and having established the justice to examine him, and he pronounced his judgment: he is a criminal, a revolutionary, a seeker of the throne.

And they (the Romans) crucified him contrary to the manner inherited from the fathers.” 

Josephus also has the following interesting description of the appearance of Jesus: “He was a simple-looking man, mature, dark-skinned, short-lived, three cubits high, stooped, face long, nose long, eyebrows grown together, so that those who looked at him might be frightened, sparse-haired, divided in the middle like the Nazirites, and immature beard.”

—-

The above information is abbreviated from Prof V.T. Aaltonen’s writing in Finnish, “Why am I not a Christian?” (2nd edition, 1952) 

Addition from the author of the Bibleconcealed article: [Palm width is an old measure of length. Initially, it has been the width of a man’s palm, a third of afoot, and a sixth of a cubit, about 9 centimeters.

6×9 cm =54 cm. Three cubits thus total 3 x 54 cm = 162 cm]

There is a prophecy of Jesus in the Bible: Isa 11:1 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. Isa 53:2 He grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry land, He has no form, nor honour, when we observe him, nor appearance, that we should desire him. Isa 52:14 As astonished at you have been many, (So marred by man his appearance, and his form by sons of men.)” 

Even Isaiah once received in a vision a description of Jesus. How different Jesus is portrayed in the numerous altarpieces, tall and slender, with European facial features. What might people think of an altarpiece depicting Jesus as described by Flavius Josephus?

 

How does Satan try to mess up the Word of God? 

Could it be thought that God would have “done missionary work” in these Gentiles as well? After all, Christianity will lose nothing if the same high principles become known among the Gentiles. Why would God have done this? After all, he was only the God of the tribes of Israel and had left the celestial bodies for the Gentiles to be worshiped. 2 Cor 4:3 “Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish, 4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.” – “God of this world” is, of course, Satan. Satan does everything he can to blind people’s minds so that they do not see the light of the gospel of Christ, but seek worldly wealth and success.

Where have such Christian ideas widely accumulated in the pagan world? The Jews probably haven’t been on mission trips, that’s for sure. Could the explanation for these fables of different nations, which closely resemble the narratives of the Bible, be the work of Satan, that is, to create events like the history of the Bible to confuse the world of human thought? How does this idea fit in time, that is, has Satan been able to know about future events in order to carry them out in obscurity around the world?

Ernest Renan, a 19th-century biblical scholar born in France in 1823, writes of Mithraism, which was born in Persia and had spread throughout the Roman Empire in the early days of Christianity: “It had its mystical meetings and chapels like small churches. Its confessors were united by a strong sense of brotherhood; it had a supper, so similar to the supper of the Christian mysteries, that Justinus Martyr found no other explanation for it than that Satan, in order to deceive the people, chose to imitate Christian ceremonies and thus steal them.”

According to the Bible, Satan has been orbiting the earth and has had bases like Tire. Daniel also says: 

10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.”

 10:20 “Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. When I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.”                                              

10:21 “But I will tell you that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none who holds with me against these, but Michael your prince. 12:1 At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.”

Satan has long been part of a small “leadership team” of God’s angelic princes. He has been aware of God’s plans for the world. God once asked Satan where he was coming from. Satan answered:  “From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:7 and 2:1).” 

Did Satan just watch the scenery? Rather, I believe that Satan has sown in the world principles of other religions reminiscent of the sacred events of Christianity and in different pagan peoples. Who else could have provided with the Bible similar wise guidelines for several religions? In this way, Satan has created situations in which even scholars wonder how different religions have similar life guidelines to the Bible. Therefore, Satan not only wandered the earth but sought to create future-affecting deceptions to the Word of the Bible to eliminate the effect of Christ’s work of salvation. Is this Satan’s biggest delusion project?

I may also ask, how would the Old Testament prophets and apostles and other New Testament writers have been aware of ancient Greek or Indian and similar fables? In the present age of the Internet, all such information is available to all, but how in the time of the Old Testament and the Apostles would it have been possible to gather such diverse material from different religions consistent with the Bible and then present it as their own in a slightly modified way?

I start to lean on Ernest Renan, who originally put forward Justin Martyr’s idea that Satan is behind this deception. How many have abandoned their Christian faith after discovering these old “oriental wisdoms”?

 

Why has God tolerated Satan for so long?  

I do not know. I really don’t know. The Holy Spirit of God has allowed me to understand many things, but not yet the answer to this question. Yes, God locked disobedient angels in chains. Are Satan and his angels who believe in him too numerous and powerful? That is probably not the question. God and Jesus Christ could destroy Satan “by the breath of his mouth.” 2 The 2:8 “Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the brightness of his coming;” 

There will be a war for the kingdom of heaven. I speak as if it were a question of the future. Could Jesus Christ, to whom God has given all authority in heaven and on earth, tolerate a stubborn angel like Satan? Maybe not in God’s heaven, but according to the Bible, Satan will not be captured until Christ comes a second time. Has Satan already been cast down to earth, out of heaven? That is, he would not even have access to God. In any case, Satan’s main operating environment is on earth, seducing humanity to meet worldly needs. 

I have written about this dilemma above and based on that, I say that this war between the forces of Christ and the forces of Satan will only take place in the same context when Christ comes to earth for the second time.

Why has Almighty God put up with Satan all these years, thousands of years? And after all, still, given the world domination to him?

Another piece of Bible information that is hard to understand: When Christ comes the second time, Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years. The kingdom of Christ will endure this time, and it will come as a great surprise to the final events; Christ sets Satan free.

Another great surprising piece of information is this: although the world has been free from the influence of Satan for a thousand years, large forces are joining Satan with the intent of destroying the forces of Christ. The course of the battle is not described in detail in the Bible, but states that after Satan has besieged the forces of Christ — the camp of the saints and Jerusalem — “fire came down from heaven and consumed them.”

I have pondered the question, why does God do this, from the Fall in Paradise to the millennial rebellion of Satan and the final battle? There are many of these “why questions,” and I have brought them up in my writings. I hope to find an exhaustive answer, even though I’m already an old man.

First, remember that a thousand years is like one day in the chronology of our God. I came up with no explanation today other than that God wants to test his believers in this way; whose faith withstands the temptations of Satan? Who will fall into the snares of Satan when seeking the riches of the world?

What will be the future of man?  

In general, people believe that good people get to heaven after they die. Evil people, of course, do not, but at the last judgment, they will be read the judgment of perdition, eternal hell. This is what people generally believe.

Jesus promised something incredible: Joh 14:12 “Most assuredly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these will he do; because I am going to my Father. Rev 3:21 “He who overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father on his throne.“

Sitting on a throne is a figurative expression. It describes the power that God and Christ have, as well as Satan has – and man will have. What does ‘who wins’ mean? The victors are saved, that is, to whom Christ says “come here to my right.” To the left are the ‘losers’ who, at the final judgment, receive a negative judgment from Christ. The victors will enter the New Jerusalem and see how God descends to dwell among them. According to the Bible, Satan also has a ‘throne’ (Rev 2:13). 

When will believers perform such mighty works (John 14:12)? And where? The answer is: In God’s New World.

 

What if you believe wrong?  

Many fear the consequences of misbelieving. In this writing, too, I brought to light from history a means of pressure that emerged from early creeds: if you do not believe according to this creed, you cannot be saved. If you cannot be saved, you will face eternal hellfire. Really?

The Catholic Church began this intimidation and blackmail. It was easy to implement because no one could argue against it. People could not read or understand the speech of the priests, when these spoke “the language of God,” Latin. If someone rebelled against the Church, he was burned at the stake as an example for others.

Is the situation different today? Partly yes, partly not. One can resign from a mainstream Protestant Church with a simple announcement, and no one cares. For example, if you try to quit the Jehovah’s Witnesses after you have been baptized. My information comes from some cases reported in public; the separated person has had to experience harsh treatment. Friends have disappeared and turned to shun. The person who quit has become an outcast. 

Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged (Mat 7:1).

Luke says the same thing more thoroughly: Luk 6:37 Stop judging, and you will never be judged. Stop condemning, and you will never be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

This verse has been forgotten by many. Its central message is that a person should not pass judgment on anyone. Throughout time, both the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches have formulated and accepted creeds in their organizations, which, in addition to the content of the creed itself, say: If one does not believe this, one cannot be saved. That is, if you do not believe, you will not be saved, but you will perish in the eternal fire of hell. 

What did Luke say? Conversely, if you sentence someone to doom, you will be pronounced it for yourself!

Love of truth is absolutely essential.  In the 2. Epistle to Thessalonians we read:

2:7 “For the secret of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the person now holding it back gets out of the way,

 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth, rendering him powerless by the manifestation of his coming,

 9 “The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the power of Satan. He will use every kind of power, including miraculous signs, lying wonders,  

 10 and in all deceitfulness of the unrighteousness in those perishing, because the love of the truth they did not receive for their being saved, 

 11 For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

 12 that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 

This is about the last days and the second coming of Christ. Christ destroys Satan’s helper the Antichrist with the breath of his mouth. 

People, even believers, are tested; God himself sends a strong delusion. Those who believe a lie will be condemned because they have not believed the truth, but are pleased with iniquity (verses 11-12).

Salvation requires the love of truth (v. 10). If it is not possible for a person to decide what is the truth, he cannot be judged if he makes a mistake and makes a wrong choice. One cannot know which “sect” or doctrine the mainstream churches condemn as heresy. However, man must have a desire and a striving for the truth. It is a different matter from blindly obeying one’s own Church or religious community and believing and following its teachings.

Mat 7:7 “Keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you.  8 For everyone who keeps asking will receive, and the person who keeps searching will find, and the person who keeps knocking will have the door opened.”

 

Is the Bible concealed?

Luke 18:34 “They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said.”

Luke tells how Jesus revealed to his own apostles how things would happen to him; a cruel death at the hands of the Romans and then after three days his resurrection from the dead. The hearers did not understand the clear speech of Jesus but lived in their own desires — the deliverance of Israel from the yoke of Rome.

Many read the Bible and hear the word of the Bible in their churches, but do not properly understand what they have read or heard. The concealed word of the Bible only opens when you pray to God to open it. You must have a love for the truth in order to understand correctly.

2 Thes 2:10 “and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

In the end, at the Second Coming of Christ, God Himself sends a strong delusion so that they will believe a lie that has not accepted the love of the truth in order to be saved.

1 Cor 2: 7 “but we speak the hidden wisdom of God in a secret, that God foreordained before the ages to our glory,”

Is the wisdom of God hidden? How can you find God’s hidden wisdom? Reading the Bible, of course, but to find it you must have a love for the truth; to what God, Jesus, and the apostles taught. Not to what doctrines the synods developed and decided on, which the Bible uses to refer to as the traditions of men.

Mark 7:8 “For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men.”

The purpose of these “concealed” writings is to emphasize the love of truth and to make readers think about the kind of doctrines they follow in their lives.