Some Problems If Jesus Is The Angel Of The LORD

We must determine from context whether the word refers to the office of the sent one or to the nature of angels. We must also check if it says “AN angel of the Lord or “THE angel of the Lord” to determine whether there is a particular angel spoken about. The angel of the Lord seems to be a pre-incarnate form of Jesus (who is God and part of the trinity), and that could explain why people have in fact seen God without dying.

   Note the words “seems” and “could explain,” which essentially means, “I don’t know for sure.”

But while he thought on these things, behold, THE angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matt. 1:20-21)

   Is THE angel of the Lord (who she says is Jesus) in the womb of Mary and talking with Joseph at the same time?

   What about the following verses:

And, lo, THE angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:9-11)

   If Jesus is “THE angel of the Lord,” is this angel announcing his own birth? Are we really to believe that Jesus, as the angel, is really in two places at the same time? Jesus, as the angel, is with the shepherds in the field and at the same time in the city of David wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger?

   What about AN angel of the Lord?

Now when they had departed, behold, AN angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” (Matt. 2:13)

   An angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and yet at the same time, AN angel of the Lord is the young child? How can that be? Please explain.

But when Herod was dead, behold, AN angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. (Matt. 2:19-20)

   Is there really a difference here between AN angel of the Lord and THE angel of the Lord? Why? What determines the difference? What we still have is an “angel,” period.

What do we have the day of the resurrection of Jesus? Is he still the angel or an angel of the Lord?

Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He is risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.” (Matt. 28:2-7)

   If an angel or the angel of the Lord is Jesus, how can this angel say, “he is not here” when he is right there talking with the women at the grave? Is he at the grave and at the same time heading to Galilee?

   Even more astounding, are we really supposed to believe that Jesus was an “angel?” Heb. 1:4-6 refutes this angel-Christology:

…being made [Jesus] so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said God at any time, “Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee”? And again, “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son”? And again, when He bringeth in the First-Begotten into the world, He saith, “And let all the angels of God worship Him.”

   At no time in the scriptures does it ever equate the angel or an angel of the LORD to the Messiah. Therefore, these trinitarian “proof texts” really do not prove anything. This is simply wishful thinking.

 Jesus Is God Manifest In The Flesh?

   Another proof text to try to prove Jesus is God is taken from 1 Tim. 3:16. We will often hear, "Jesus is God manifest in the flesh." However, nowhere in that text does it say JESUS is God manifest in the flesh." It reads like this in the King James Version:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

   The first thing we need to know, and from what I understand if this is true, is that the word “God/theos” was forged into a small number of Greek texts around the 4th century. The KJV is based on corrupted manuscripts here. Many Scholars agree that the word “God” is not found in the earliest manuscripts, but was added later by scribes. From what I understand, the earliest and best manuscripts does not have the word “God” in it but rather “He,” “who,” or “which.” Even modern (trinitarian) bible translations disagree with the KJV for putting the word “God” in 1 Timothy 3: 16. Therefore, those who support the trinity doctrine will quote from the KJV.

   Since I am not a Greek scholar and do not know the Greek language (as many of you), let us approach this verse anyway with a common sense approach, putting aside the indoctrination that has been handed down to us.

   The verses say, “Great is the MYSTERY OF GODLINESS.” “Godliness” means righteousness, as in godly or piety. Paul is not saying Jesus is God incarnate nor that it is a mystery who God is. Paul certainly knew who God was (Phil. 4:19) and God gives us enough intelligence to know who He is as well. We are told in Jer. 9:24:

But let him who boasts boast in this, that he UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS me.

   Because the verse says, “God was manifest in the flesh,” this is supposed to mean that God Almighty became a man in the flesh. At this point, trinitarians contradict their own dogma. If the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father, etc., then how can they claim Jesus is God Almighty? In order to support the trinity doctrine, it should read as:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God the Son was manifest in the flesh…

   We know this is blatantly false. Scriptures says there is only one God who is the only true God (John 17:3). Trinitarians certainly cannot claim that Jesus is God the Father since they do not believe Jesus is the Father!

   When it comes to the word manifest, we see where Paul uses similar expressions in 2Corinthians 4:11:

For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made MANIFEST in our mortal flesh.

   Does this make us Christ? No. “That Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh,” simply means, “Jesus may be clearly shown.” This does not make us Jesus.

   The second thing to notice is that if we want to adhere to trinitarian teachings, we will have an enemy and that enemy is context. Preceding this chapter we find where Paul states:

For there is ONE GOD, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Timothy 2: 5,6)

   This is the result when we do not consider context. Paul never claimed Jesus is God. Paul knows there is only “ONE GOD” (not three), and this one God is separately distinct from the ‘one mediator’ between God and men. The mediator is the MAN (not God) Jesus the Messiah. At this point many try to butcher the common sense understanding and definition of “mediator” so that they do not have to engage in a rational discussion.

   Furthermore, if the passage in 1 Tim. 3:16 concerns God the Father, when did God have to be justified in the spirit? In addition, the passage certainly does not teach God was manifest in the flesh who was seen because, “No man hath seen God at any time...” (John 1:18). The passage has to do with Jesus.

 Jesus Has Come In The Flesh

   The phrase “Jesus has come in the flesh” does not mean that he pre-existed. The Oneness doctrine that Oneness Pentecostals hold to is just as awful as the trinity doctrine. With the trinity doctrine, we have 3 Gods, which consists of three “persons” that supposedly make up one God. The Oneness Pentecostal doctrine (Modalism or Sabellianism) has one God as a single person who has revealed himself in three modes or forms. Both doctrines adopt each other’s language and same pet scripture verses to prove their doctrine that Jesus is God.

   What both doctrines do is reduce Jesus the Messiah to a piece of flesh who did not really exist as a total human being. In other words, according to both of these doctrines, God needed a piece of flesh to robe Himself in order to walk and speak through. The result is that we end up with irrational senseless language and explanations to prove Jesus is God. The end result is that they have eliminated the actual son of God. If God is Jesus, then God had no son! What we think was the son was just a piece of flesh that God needed to occupy!

   In 1 John 4:2 we read:

This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

   Nowhere does it say, “God came in the flesh.” Another translation accurately says:

How can you recognize God’s spirit? Every spirit who confesses Jesus Messiah as the one coming as a fully human being.¹⁶

   There is nothing about God becoming a man. Much of the confusion concerns the word “coming” as though it means arriving from a previous life from somewhere else. That “Jesus has come in the flesh” has to do with his appearance when Mary gave birth to Jesus, a human being. He came into existence (“begotten by God”) in Mary and called the Son of God because he is the Christ (meaning, “anointed,” the Messiah).

   A friend said concerning 1 John 4:2:

What John is getting at when he says ‘they deny that Jesus comes in the flesh’ is that they deny Christ has ANY POWER over their flesh. They preach that Christ has ONLY come “in their spirit” and their flesh remains the same until the day they die (or until Christ’s return and he changes their flesh).

   That explanation is not found in the text, nor does it make any sense. This is not to mention that Jesus the Messiah has no power over any flesh (humans). It is without a doubt that Christ had power over his own flesh, i.e., he overcame the temptations of the flesh. We all have a free choice to reject or give into temptation (1 Cor. 10:13).

   The word for “flesh” in that verse means “flesh,” i.e., a “human being” just like all of us. Being in the flesh (according to context) is a human being, and the trinitarian teaching denies this by saying he was fully human and fully God.

   Jesus did not come “into flesh” as though he pre-existed in some other form and transferred himself from heaven into a woman’s womb. If Jesus pre-existed he could not be fully human but simply dressed up to appear as a human being.

   Jesus was and is a full human being. He is still a man although no longer mortal since he now has a life of immortality after his resurrection and sits at the right hand of the Father and is the mediator between God and man. We read in 1 Tim. 2:5:

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

   Do you see all the irrational explaining one has to do in order to support a position that is not even scriptural?

  Jesus Making Himself Equal With God?

   Furthermore, “equal” does not mean “of the same substance” that makes up “one being,” thus God. In the Old Testament Joseph is said to be equal to Pharaoh (Gen. 44:18), does this make Joseph Pharaoh?

 Jesus Claiming To Be God In John 8:58?

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

   The trinitarian claim is that the Jews picked up stones to try to stone Jesus because he was claiming to be God. Jesus never claimed, “I am God.” Trinitarian teaching would have us believe that this “I am” relates to the time when God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. Remember that Moses was talking with the LORD’S angel (Exo. 3:2). Remember the law of agency? Furthermore, bear in mind Jesus is not the Father!

   The fact is, they were not wanting to stone Jesus for claiming to be God, but because he claimed to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God.

The Jews had an awfully short memory if they were trying to say Jesus was claiming to be God, but were not bright enough to bring this up at the trial where they had the perfect opportunity to recall this to everyone’s attention and set the record straight. What did they ask Jesus at the trial? Did they ask if he were God? No. They knew exactly what Jesus was claiming. The High Priest said to Jesus:

I command you by the living God to tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God! (John 6:63)

   And THAT is why the Jews wanted to kill him, not because he claimed to be the Supreme God. If we think they were angry because Jesus was claiming to be God, then they asked the wrong question. It had to do with Jesus being the Messiah, the son of God, as we see earlier in Jesus’ ministry:

So the Jews surrounded him and quizzed him, "How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us so plainly. (John 10: 24)

We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. (John 19:7)

   The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well had a conversation with Jesus and how he responded to her:

I know that the Anointed One is coming, who is being called 'Messiah'. When that person comes, he will explain everything. “I am he," Jesus replied, the one who is speaking to you” (John 4:25-26).

 “I Am” Does Not Mean Jesus Is God

   Now I would like to take the passage in its context. The Scribes and Pharisees are accusing Jesus of having a demon. In John 8:48-53 we read:

The Jews answered and said to him, "Do we not say rightly that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. But I do not seek my glory; there is One who seeks and judges. "Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word he shall never see death. The Jews said to him, "Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and you say, 'If anyone keeps my word, he shall never taste of death.' Surely you are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do you make yourself out to be?"

   It is obvious the question from the Scribes and Pharisees was asked because they misunderstood what Jesus said about eternal life. They failed to realize that if they believe in God through his (Jesus) word, they would have eternal life. It was not, as they understood it, that they would never taste physical death. Because of their misinterpretation of what Jesus said, they began to mock him by saying, “Abraham died…are you greater than Abraham?” The Jews revered Abraham as the greatest of all the prophets, and if Jesus were claiming to be greater than Abraham, this was considered blasphemy.

   Continuing in 8:54-57:

If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing; it is my Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I shall be a liar like you, but I do know Him, and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. The Jews therefore said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”

   It is very clear Jesus does not claim to be God. He plainly states “My Father…” is the one you Jews say, “He is our God.”

   Furthermore, once again the Jews misunderstood what Jesus said, and under the trinitarian belief, it does not mean Jesus pre-existed. Jesus never said he saw Abraham. The gospel was preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8) about the coming Messiah. So Abraham rejoiced at the day the Messiah would come and he saw by faith. It was not that he literally saw Jesus with his physical eyes.

   Then we get to verse 58, 59:

Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

   At this point, many who believe Jesus is God, think that the “I am” is alluding to the divine name (Ex. 3:14), which the bible translators give this impression by capitalizing “I AM.”

   Jesus was not trying to explain to the Jews that he was one-third part of a trinity and the “I AM.” The Greek for "I am" is "ego eimi." It is often translated as “I am he” or some equivalent. Look up the different translations and you will find:

• Mark 13:6, Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. (KJV has “Christ”)

• Luke 21:8, And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

• John 13:19, Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

• John 18:5-6, They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.

• Matt.14:27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.

• Mark 6:50, For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

• John 6:20, But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

• John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

   The translators were not consistent when it came to John 8:58 and shows the trinitarian bias of the translators. The words “I am” (ego eimi) was common vocabulary for the Greeks just as it is for us in the English language. ‘Ego eimi” (I am) are not Greek words reserved for the name of their God, Yahweh. Just because someone says, “I am” (ego eimi) does not mean the person is God. The blind man in John 9:9 says, “Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, “I am (ego eimi) he.” No one would mistake the blind man to be God. As brother Kel so rightly states:

Trinitarians typically suggest that ego eimi was a Greek way of saying God's name "Yahweh." But this is preposterous on several levels. If that is the case then Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, Yahweh." This is absurd nonsense. And are we also to believe Gabriel identified himself as Yahweh at Luke 1:19 when he said, "I am (ego eimi) Gabriel." At Luke 22:33, when Peter said to Jesus, "I am (ego eimi) prepared to go to prison with you and to death," shall we then say he used the words ego eimi to say to Jesus, "Yahweh is prepared to go to prison with you and to death?" By using ego eimi was Peter also claiming to be Yahweh? When John said, "I am (ego eimi) not the Christ," are we expected to believe it really means John the Baptist was saying that Yahweh is not the Christ? (John 1:20). When the centurion said, "I am (ego eimi) a man under authority (Matthew 8:9), are we to believe this really meant, "Yahweh is a man under authority" and the centurion was claiming to be Yahweh? When Jesus said one of his disciples would betray him and Judas literally said, "Not I am (ego eimi) Lord?" are we to believe this really meant Judas was claiming to be Yahweh and Yahweh was going to betray Jesus? (Matthew 26:25). Why aren't Trinitrians being consistent with the term ego eimi in many other passages? The implications of the Trinitarian claim are disturbingly ridiculous.

   As we can see, because of the trinitarian bias of the translators, they cannot be consistent because they were too busy trying to make Jesus God Almighty and therefore confuse many of who Jesus really is. He is the Son of God, the Messiah. Jesus claimed to be the Son of God and the Messiah, and others called him the Messiah throughout his ministry (Luke 2:11; Matt. 16:16; Mark 1:1; John 1:41).

   Nowhere in the gospel of John was John trying to convince people of a trinity teaching, that Jesus was God, or that Jesus literally pre-existed. John stated the purpose of his writing for he states near the end:

But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is God? NO.

Rather:

But these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)

By the way, “Christ” is not Jesus’ last name. The word is a Greek translation of the Hebrew messiah, meaning, “the anointed one.”

   Another proof text often used to prove Jesus is God is Acts 20:28:

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

   Are we to believe that God has blood? They believe that the blood of Jesus is the blood of God. By the way, they call it call “divine blood.”

Divine blood flowed in the veins of this only begotten Son of the Lord. He had flesh like we have but not blood like ours. Because it came from the Holy Ghost, the blood of Jesus was divine.¹⁸

   Acts 20:28 does not prove God shed His own blood because God does not have blood. It was the blood of Christ, God’s Son. Most versions say:

the assembly of God, which he has purchased with the blood of his own. (Darby).

the church of God which he bought with the blood of his own Son. (JB).

the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son. (RSV)

the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. (NET).

   Comparing scripture with scripture, we know it has to do with Jesus. In Rev. 5:9 we read:

   No one can kill God. God did not shed His own blood for God does not have blood. The basic fundamental truth about God is that He is eternal.¹⁹   He is the living God.²⁰ He is the everlasting God.²¹ He is the immortal God.²²  Paul speaks of God as the One who alone has immortality. (1 Tim. 6:16):

He alone possesses immortality and lives in unapproachable light, whom no human has ever seen or is able to see. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.

   God is not subject to death, God has no blood, and Jesus is not God. If Jesus is God, then God died! At least one-third of him did. How that is supposed to work out, I do not know. It is hard to wrap our brain around something so absurd to the natural senses God gave us once we know the truth. The best a trinitarian can say, since they do not believe God can die, is that the “man part” died. They want to give Jesus two natures! At this point we must then resort to philosophical explanations that Jesus was fully human and fully God. Nowhere does the bible ever say this or imply it.

 God Forsakes Himself?

   When Christ was on the cross he cried out:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46)

   If Jesus is God, by whom is he deserted? Is he crying out to Himself? Did God forsake God? Did God raise himself from the dead? Since God is immortal, how can one-third of God die? For those who believe Jesus is God you must believe:

• God forsakes Himself (God forsakes God)

• commits Himself to God (God commits Himself to Himself)

• God prays to Himself (God prays to God)

• God raises Himself from the dead (God raises a dead God).

   Does anyone not see the absurdity? All this is very imaginative, irrational, and absurd and therefore one must resort to the “dual nature” argument.

   There is nothing in scripture that implies or declares that Christ had a “dual nature.” This “dual nature doctrine” is a form of Gnosticism. All is philosophy. (Col. 2:8)

   Nothing in this world has two natures. If Jesus had both a human nature and a God nature then he must simultaneously have perfect knowledge and restricted knowledge. This is impossible and a contradictory position. In order to avoid this inconsistency, it is explained by saying Jesus emptied himself by referring to Phil. 2:6-7. I must ask, “Emptied himself of what? Their answer, if they dare, “Of his deity.” Well, if that is the case, then Jesus ceased from being in the trinity!

   To speak of anything having nature is a contradiction of terms. For instance, people will talk about “sinful nature” and that we are born with it. To say one has a sinful nature really means nothing. If one has a sinful nature, where is it? If one claims he was born with a sinful nature, can he take it out and still have a nature? Nature is simply the essence, essential qualities or attributes of a thing, which constitute it what it is. Nature is comparable to the word definition. I can look at an object and define it. However, where is the definition? Where would we find it?

   One cannot be fully one thing and fully another. One being cannot consist of two beings.

  I And The Father Are One

I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one. (John 17:20-22)

   Does that make us of the same substance and therefore make us God? No, it has to do with one in purpose. In 1 Cor. 3:8 where it has to do with preaching the gospel, it states:

He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

   Again, “are one” has to do with one in purpose. It has nothing to do with being one in the ontological sense.

 Who Is The True God?

And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. (1 John 5:20)

   This is another gem to try to prove the trinity. By the way, do you still notice the absence of the holy spirit, the third member of the trinity?

   Because the verse says, “this is the true God” just after mentioning Christ, it is assumed Jesus is the true.

   Would it not be rather odd for John, who knows the Father is the only true God (John 17:3), and Jesus as the Son of God (John 20:31), to suddenly call Jesus the true God?

   In 1 John 5:20, trinitarians insist that the antecedent to the word “this” is referring back to Christ. However, if trinitarians want to remain consistent, then they must use the same line of reasoning and interpretation in the following verses:

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22)

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

   Would trinitarians actually call Christ the antichrist in 1 John 2:22? And would we think that Jesus is the deceiver and the antichrist?

   “Him who is true” in 1 John 5:20 is the Father.

As Bro. Kel rightly points out:

The Son comes to give us understanding so that we might know “Him [referring to God] who is true.” Jesus has come to give us an understanding of the Father that we might know God the Father through His Son.

We are in Him [referring to God] who is true, in HIS [referring to God] son Jesus Christ.” The HIM who is true has a son named Jesus.

   The trinity doctrine has hidden the obvious truth from those who fight so hard to defend this dogma. I wonder how many people have started to read this book only to put it down because they could not bear that something they have believed in for so long could be a sham. As authors Anthony Buzzard and Charles Hunting have stated:

Once a belief has been accepted both intellectually and emotionally as truth, any challenge to that cherished tenet is liable to almost automatic rejection. The very human desire of all of us to conform to the group which has nourished us and the lifetime patterns of thought learned from sincere teachers we trusted and respected tends to create barriers which secure us against all objections and can blind us to the most obvious truths. When those deeply held beliefs are challenged, we naturally feel threatened and defensive. Robert Hall, a 19^th-century writer on religion, observed wisely that:

Whatever holds back a spirit of inquiry is favorable to error, whatever promotes it, to truth. But nothing, it will be acknowledged, has a greater tendency to obstruct the spirit of inquiry, than the spirit and feeling of party. Let a doctrine, however erroneous, become a party distinction, and it is at once entrenched in interests and attachments which make it extremely difficult for the most powerful artillery of reason to dislodge it.²³

 Does Jesus Have a God?

   Remember that Jesus prays to his Father and says:

And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. (John 17:3)

   Notice Jesus is not saying, “that they may know ME, the only true God.” Jesus is not the only true God and never claimed to be. When Jesus was resurrected from the dead, he said to Mary at the tomb:

Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. (John 20:17)

   How can people claim that Jesus is God when scriptures clearly explain that he has a God and this God is his Father? This same God is also our God and Father!

   That Jesus has a God does not change after the resurrection. In Rev 1:6 we find:

And has made us to be a kingdom and priests to his God and Father…

   In Rev. 3:12 it says:

 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

   How can one honestly look at these passages and deny what it says? How can one claim Jesus is God yet has a God? How can God have a God?

 There is Only One God

   Many also try to use Paul’s writings to try to prove Jesus is God when Paul never claimed such an idea.

   There is only one God and He is the Father. Paul clearly states:

Seeing it is one God, which shall justify. (Rom.3:30)

Even though food is offered to idols, we know that none of the idols in this world are alive. After all, there is only one God. (1Cor.8:4)

We have only one God, and he is the Father. He created everything...(1Cor.8:6)

There is one God who is the Father of all people. (Eph.4:6)

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

   There are many passages that refer to the Father who is God alone. In Mark 12:28 we find a scribe who asked Jesus:

Which commandment is the most important of all?

   In verse 29 Jesus answers:

The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

   Jesus did not say the LORD is three or three in one. Jesus is repeating what all Jews believe. He refers back to Deut. 6:4:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

   And how did the scribe respond in verse 32?

And the scribe said to him, Well, Teacher, in truth thou hast spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He.

 God Is the Father of Our Lord Jesus

…that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:6)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus; (2Cor.1:3)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eph.1:3)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (1Pet.1:3)

   How much clearer can this get? To defend that Jesus is God is to reject these simple truths. To reject these truths is also to reject what Jesus taught us concerning his Father and about himself. John, one of his disciples, made it very clear:

Everyone who does not remain true to the teaching of the Messiah, but goes beyond it, does not have God. The person who remains true to the teaching of the Messiah has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9)

   John makes it very plain that everyone who goes beyond the teachings of Jesus “does not have God.”

 The Image of God

   Col. 1:5 is often used to try to support the trinity:

He is the image of the unseen God, the firstborn of all creation.

If the reader would like to learn more concerning Col. 1:15-20, please see footnote.²⁴ I highly recommend it.

 Only God is Good?

   In scripture we read:

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. (Mark 10:17-18)

   A common question asked for trinitarians:

If Jesus is God, why did he say 'No one is good but God alone'?

   A typical trinitarian answer is that the question Jesus posed to the man was designed not to deny his deity, but to recognize Christ’s identity. This is supposed to be substantiated by passages like John 10:11 where Jesus is called the “good shepherd.” So their deduction and reasoning are summarized as:

1. Jesus claims only God is good.

2. Jesus claims to be good.

3. Therefore, Jesus claims to be God.

   How about that? Wow! Do you think that was persuasive reasoning and proved the trinity?

   Now, some people take the passage and claim that Jesus only says, “No one is good.” Was Jesus contradicting himself? Let us read some quotes from Jesus himself in the New Testament:

so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matt. 5:45)

The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. (Matt.12:35)

And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. (Matt.22:10)

   As we can see, Jesus says there are good people. And when he says, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone,” Jesus is simply distinguishing between himself and God the Father who alone is absolutely good.

 Worship Jesus Or Worship God?

   The majority of Christendom thinks that since Jesus was worshiped, this means he is God. They will also often refer to a passage where Jesus says:

You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only. (Matt. 4: 10).

   Note that Jesus did not say, “I am the LORD your God, worship me only.”

   Worship means to “bow down.” Bowing and worshipping shows respect. In the Hebrew culture, worship is not set aside entirely for God but people as well were worshiped. For example:

• Nathan the prophet worshiped King David. (1 Kings 1:23)

• David was worshiped alongside the One true God (1 Chron. 29:20).

• David bowed before Saul (1 Samuel 24:8).

• Joseph’s brothers “worshiped” him (Gen. 43:26).

• Ruth “worshiped” Boaz (Ruth 2:10).

• Abigail “worshiped” David the outlaw (1 Sam. 25: 23, 41).

• Saints are going to be “worshiped” by their former persecutors (Rev. 3:9).

 Worshiping Someone Does Not Mean They Are God

    The Hebrew and Greek words for “worship” apply to God but also apply to superior human agents of the only true God. The word for worship in the Hebrew is "shachah" and is used for prostrating or bowing oneself before a human superior or before God. In the Greek the word for worship is "proskuneo.” What is interesting is that the King James Bible translators translate it as "worship" (99 times), “bow” (31 times), “bow down” (18 times), “obeisance” (9 times), and “reverence” (5 times).²⁵

   Worshipping a superior human agent did not make them the only true God, including Jesus.

   The translators have misled us where it concerns the word worship and this is why there is confusion. They translate worship as “bow down” or something similar when it refers to people and as “worship” when it refers to Jesus and God the Father.

   Simply put, both are worthy of worship, that is, Jesus as the Lord Messiah, not as God himself. The ULTIMATE praise and worship are directed to the ONLY TRUE GOD AND FATHER of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 1:3) As Jesus said:

You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only. (Matt. 4: 10).

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. (John 4:23)

 You Shall Die In Your Sins?

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins. (John 8:24)

   This verse, often quoted, is an attempt to frighten those who do not believe in the trinity. At a time in history, a person was tortured to death for denying this teaching. Many were burned at the stake. Since no one can impose the death sentence in our modern times, one is terminated from fellowship and accused of having deserted the faith. It is interesting that we can be terrified into believing something that is not true. Most people fall for it. I know I once did.

   Because of the influence of the trinity doctrine, they read it as though Jesus said this:

I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am [GOD] you will die in your sins.

   According to many who adhere to the trinity teaching, our salvation depends upon believing that Jesus is God. This is a major distortion of the text. John never tried to convince anyone that Jesus is God through his writings. He tells us near the end of the gospel the purpose for his writing:

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

   We see the purpose of John’s writing was not to prove Jesus is God. He says that people will die in their sins because they do not believe he is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

   Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah (John 4:25-26). Jesus affirmed Peter's statement that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Matt 16:15-17, see also Mark 8:29-30, Luke 9:20-21). Jesus told the high priest that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Mark 14:61-62, Matt 26:63-64, Lk 22:70). There is nothing in the whole bible where our salvation depends on the belief that Jesus is God.

   I was reading the book of Acts not long ago where Phillip was teaching the Ethiopian eunuch about a certain passage. Phillip was teaching him about Jesus and must have talked about baptism because the eunuch asked about being baptized. Philip said to the eunuch that if he believed with all his heart he could. Look at the confession of the eunuch:

 I believe that Jesus Christ is THE SON OF GOD. (Acts 8:37)

   He did not say that he believes Jesus is God, or part of a triune God.

   A little further, we read about Saul’s conversion. It says:

So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized, and he took food and was strengthened. (Acts 9:17-19)

   What happened next is that Saul begins to teach about Christ. He was with the disciples several days at Damascus and immediately began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. Did he start preaching, "Jesus is God?" No. He began to proclaim “JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD” (Acts 9:20).

   Neither the disciples nor Saul (name changed to Paul after his conversion) was confused about who God is and who Christ is. Will you believe Jesus and those whom he taught or the trinity doctrine?

 Does God Have A Supreme God? How So?

   Hebrews 1:8 is used to try to prove Jesus is God:

But to the Son He says ‘Your throne, O God, is forever.

   Many will say, “See! Right there the word theos (God) is used for Jesus. There it is!” But does this prove the trinity? The word “God” in Hebrews 1:8 does not indicate God the Father, which is proven by the very next verse:

Therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions.

   We have already established that there is only one true God. But let us also use our common sense. Does the Supreme God have a Supreme God? How so? If someone has a God then he cannot be God. The problem is solved once we realize Hebrews 1:8 is quoting Psalm 45:6-7:

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.

   The context of that Psalm is the Davidic king’s marriage to a princess from Tyre. The psalmist calls the king God because he represents God as God’s agent to rule over God’s people. Does this make the king the supreme God?

   Trinitarians must be consistent. If Jesus is referred to as the supreme God in Hebrews 1:8, then they must also conclude that the Davidic king of Psalm 45:6 is also the supreme God.

   Jesus is called God in a “representative sense,” not as the supreme God Himself.

 “God With Us”

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which means “God with us.” (Matt. 1:23)

   This verse is supposed to prove Jesus is God. The name is taken literally rather than symbolically. It has nothing to do with God coming out of heaven and taking up space here on earth as a man. The phrase, “God with us” could also be translated “God is with us” as it is in other translations.

   It is interesting that if Jesus is God, why is it the trinitarians do not address him as Immanuel? If the name is to be taken literally, then the Old Testament names that were given to people such as Israel, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Michael, Ezekiel, and Joel, that all contain "el," meaning “God,” should be an affirmation that all these people are God.

   “The LORD is with us” or “the LORD is with you,” is a frequent expression in the scriptures.²⁶ It is clear that the name is symbolic.

God was not literally Christ nor Christ literally God, but in His Son, as 2 Cor. 5:19 states:

That God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself.

Matthew 1:23 does not prove the trinity doctrine nor that Jesus is God.

 Jesus Forgave Sins Therefore He is God?

   The teaching is that since only God can forgive sins, therefore Jesus must be God. When Jesus healed the paralytic and told him his sins were forgiven, the Pharisees accused Jesus of blaspheming and said, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

   Where in the bible does it say only God can forgive sins? I was reading one website in defense of the trinity and it said the following:

Jesus asked these experts in the law whether it was easier to say a man is forgiven or to tell a paralyzed man to rise and walk. Of course, Jesus refers, not to the ease of SAYING the words, but to the ability to make them come true. Had He simply healed the man, they would have been amazed but would not have recognized that He was God in the flesh.

   He states at the end of the article concerning the Pharisees:

Hence, instead of accusing Jesus of blasphemy, these men ought to have recognized and honored Him as being from God.

   Note the contradiction. If Jesus is God, how can Jesus be from God?

   He also states after trying to prove Jesus is God because of the miracles he did:

God would never immediately give Him the power to do such miracles.

   Again, the contradictions never cease. If Jesus is God, he gave power to Himself? They should honor God because God gave power to God to show mankind that He is God? Really? This is why there is confusion and nonsensical explanations.

   The Pharisees were wrong and the trinitarian doctrine is wrong. The simple fact is that God grants authority to forgive sins to whom He pleases, even to an angel as we saw in Exodus 23:20-21. God’s authorized agents have the authority to forgive sins. He granted this authority to His Son, and in turn, Jesus granted this authority to the disciples. He told them:

If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven.

   If the Pharisees were right that only God can forgive sins, then Jesus and the disciples were all God, because they all had the authority to forgive sins.

 The Alpha And Omega

I am the Alpha and the Omega, declares the Lord God, "the one who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8)

   Many turn to this verse to prove Jesus is God. If one has a red letter edition of the bible, everything in red print is supposed to be the words of Jesus. This leads us deeper down the road of deception.

   In verse 4, we have reference to the Father, and in verse 5 Jesus is mentioned separately, “…AND from Jesus the Messiah.” Then when we get to verse 8, this is once again in reference to the Father (Yahweh).

   In Rev. 1:8, it is not Jesus speaking. The phrase "Lord God" is never used of Jesus, nor is Jesus ever called the “Almighty.” Scripture makes a clear distinction between the Almighty and Jesus in Rev.21:22:

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.

 Shared Titles

   Further confusion takes place because of shared titles such as "Alpha and Omega," "the first and the last," and "the beginning and the end" that are applied to God the Father and Jesus.²⁷ Just because Jesus and Yahweh have titles in common does not give credibility for the “Oneness” doctrine (who claim Jesus is the Father), nor credibility to the trinity teaching. If this were the case, Cyrus, the king of Persia, would have been (for those who believe in a literal pre-existence) the pre-existent Jesus since both are called “Messiah.” Isaiah 45:1a reads:

Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus…

   The Hebrew word for “anointed” is “Messiah.” It is the same word that was translated "Messiah" in Dan. 9:25,26 and "anointed" in Ps.2:2.

   Another title shared has to do with the word “Savior.” God the Father is called Savior. ²⁸ In Isa. 43:11 we read:

I myself am Yahweh; and besides me there is no savior. 

   Jesus is also called “savior.” Because Jesus is also called “Savior,” some people think that this must mean he is God, but this is not true. Furthermore, many people were called “saviors” in the Old Testament. But the meaning is veiled from those reading the scriptures in the English language because of the trinitarian bias of the translators. They use the term “deliverer” at times when they apply it to men, and apply “Savior” when it refers to Jesus and God the Father. A prime example of this can be seen in Neh. 9:27:

But when they [Israel] were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers [saviors], who rescued them from the hand of their enemies”

   God raised up many individuals as saviors to rescue Israel and designated as “savior” and “saviors.”²⁹ It was prophesied that God would send someone other than Himself to be a savior, and in the end, Christ is the savior for all mankind who works through God the Father. Jesus is our savior, but the ultimate savior is God the Father. So though both are called “savior,” it does not mean they are one and the same.

   I will end this chapter with a thought from Bro. Kel, from Trinity Delusion Website. If we really are to believe that Jesus is God:

Resorting to the Ridiculous

At times the claims of Trinitarian apologists are downright ridiculous. How many times have you heard a Trinitarian claim the Magi bowed down before baby Jesus because they knew he was God? How many times have you heard them claim that nobody would do such a thing unless he was indeed God? How many times have you wondered if they bowed down before him simply because he was the King of the Jews? And have you ever wondered if they, and even the Jewish people themselves, considered it appropriate to bow down before a King? Do Trinitarians really expect us to believe the Jews did not know anything about a three person God because God had not yet “fully revealed himself” but the pagan Magi were well aware that Jesus was God?

And when Mary his mother changed baby Jesus’ diapers did she really think she was changing God’s diapers? Or was Jesus’ own mother not privy to the same insight as the Trinitarians? The Bible says Jesus was subject to Joseph and Mary. It must have been quite difficult for them to have such authority over God. “God, go to your room!” And are we really to believe that Joseph was guarding God against Herod when he fled to Egypt with little Jesus? And when Joseph and Mary realized they had lost Jesus on their trip home from Jerusalem, are we really to believe they were worried they had inadvertently left God behind? And what was God doing growing in wisdom and favor with God and men anyway?

Are we really to accept the Trinitarian translation of Hebrews 1:8, “To the Son he says, ‘Your throne O God is forever and ever” and blindly fail to notice the very next verse would then refer to God’s God? Are we really supposed to be completely blind to the fact that this would have God the Father speaking to God the Son and reminding God the Son that he has a God? Are we really to accept the Trinitarian “only begotten God” manuscript variant of John 1:18 when it says this only begotten God reveals God the Father who happens to be the unbegotten God? Are we really supposed to stick our tongue in cheek and not see that this would result in a begotten God revealing an unbegotten God? That would be two Gods, one begotten and one not. How many doses of denial do they expect us to take?

Are we really to pretend Jesus was omniscient, all knowing when we are told that he increased in wisdom? Are we really supposed to believe this preposterous claim when Jesus himself said only the Father knew the day and hour of his return? Did the word “only” lose its meaning last night? Just to what extent to Trinitarians expect us to deceive ourselves?

And when Trinitarians respond to John 20:17 by pointing out that Jesus said, “My God and your God” but did not say “My God and our God,” just what exactly are they suggesting? That Jesus’ God is a different God than our God? What difference would it make? Isn’t “My God and Your God” simply an emphatic way of saying “Our God?” And if you only believe in one God then there is no difference in the identity of “My God” and “your God” is there? Or perhaps their entire goal was to confuse the issue to avoid the implications of Jesus words? After all, he is saying that our God is the same God as his God. Who was his God? Just what are Trinitarian apologists trying to do here?³⁰