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No God Religion
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Petrus De Eerste Paus?
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JW's & 144,000
The Devil Is Real!
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Abortion In Bible
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Sooner or later almost every person will encounter a Jehovah’s Witness (JWs) or at least see their Watchtower or Awake magazines laying around. Who are these people and what do they really believe? Jehovah’s Witnesses (or Jehovah Witnesses) are people who think God’s Organization on earth today and single channel of spiritual truth is located in Brooklyn, New York. They call that place The Watchtower or sometimes Bethel, from the Biblical term which means house of God. Most significantly, they also believe only their leaders in Brooklyn have the ability to correctly interpret the Bible and accurately teach God’s word. This causes them to not interpret the Bible on their own, but merely receive whatever they are taught from Brooklyn. Hence, essentially the only teachings communicated by the local JWs who come to our doors is what is written in the various Watchtower Bible and Tract Society publications. Some of their main teachings are: ● hell is the grave ● the wicked will be annihilated ● the Trinity is pagan ● a Trinitarian believes Jesus is the person of the father. ● Jesus is not deity but merely Michael the archangel, the first and greatest creation of Jehovah God. ● only 144,000 can be “born again” and will go to heaven ● and most JWs will not go to heaven but instead reside on paradise earth. At the very core of their door-to-door campaign is what they call the good news of the kingdom, which is not the real Biblical good news of the kingdom which is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus for salvation (Acts 20:21-25), but instead a reference to a future paradise on earth with perfect peace for 1,000 years. They are eager to discuss and attack the Trinity and deity of Christ doctrines because most professing Christians are not able to defend their own beliefs. When it comes to salvation, the JWs think taking in “knowledge” as defined by their leaders, is how they can get eternal life. This comes from their misuse of John 17:3. Their organizational Bible is The New World Translation (NWT). They think it is the most accurate translation of all translations, but that is far from the truth. The New World Translation is most unique because the unnamed translators have changed almost every single Scripture revealing the deity of Christ to conform to their own false beliefs about him being created. They have added words which should not be there and taken words out of the text that should be there. The New World Translation is a deceptive way of avoiding problem Scriptures. By changing the actual Scripture reading, their own teachings are protected and persevered. Hence, the NWT should never be considered a translation to be trusted to learn God’s truth. It is also significant to note that their founder, Charles Taze Russel, was a Bible-defined false prophet. He and his successors, at times, have claimed to be the faithful and wise slave dispersing meat in due season and a prophet likened unto Ezekiel. However, the evidence of their false prophecies regarding Armageddon proves otherwise. They made false prophecies regarding 1914, 1918, 1925, 1931, 1941 and 1975. Clearly, then the Watchtower Headquarters is a false prophet and therefore a deceiver. Jesus taught in Mt. 24:11: Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. The context of that Scripture is the end of this age. One would think after all those Watchtower false prophecies no one would still trust such a darkened religious group, that has so often been wrong, for Biblical understanding, but sadly that is not the case. So how could millions still implicitly trust such a group? In part, it’s because their headquarters has clouded the issue of their own identity and false prophecies by also claiming at other times: ● they are not an inspired prophet, ● that they admit their mistakes in reference to their own false prophecies ● and the path of a righteous man grows brighter and brighter. All of that is irrelevant to the identity of a false prophet, according to Deut. 18:21,22. Here is what God’s words says: You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. If a person claims to be God’s prophet and speaks out a false prediction, he is a false prophet. End of discussion! Admitting to the false prophecy is irrelevant and is nothing more than a smokescreen cited to confuse the issue and escape the consequences. Sadly, the false prophets in Brooklyn NY, who want people to think they are Jehovah’s organization, continue to spread their false gospel and counterfeit Jesus around the world through their followers. As a consequence, many people and even some real Christians, have been deceived by their teachings and have been lethally hurt. Because of the Watchtower Society’s teachings, the zealous Jehovah Witnesses refuse to come to Jesus to have eternal life. In John 5:39,40 Jesus told some religiously deceived people this: You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life. (John 5:39,40) Refusing to come to Jesus for eternal life is exactly what the Jehovah’s Witnesses do. Consequently, because of their refusals they are going to a hell they deny exists with Bibles in their hands. The Lord Jesus also taught in John 4:10: If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. According to that passage there are two reasons why some people are not asking Jesus for living water as they desperately need to. Those two reasons are: ● 1. They don’t know the gift of God and ● 2. They don’t know who Jesus is. This is also the situation the Jehovah’s Witnesses are in. They will not extend a trusting and submitting faith in Jesus and trust him 100% for their personal salvation because they have been deceived into thinking salvation comes a different way and the Savior, Jesus, is merely Michael the archangel. Because they have been misled into thinking their association with the Watchtower Society (WS) is the vital key for salvation, and they must take in knowledge for eternal life with the WS being the only ones able to teach accurately, they are prisoners to that false system as they remain unsaved. They are blind followers of the blind. Beside exalting their headquarters to Jehovah’s Organization, they also wrongly think the WS is likened to Noah’s Ark of safety. JWs, therefore, can only give lip service to actually believing on Jesus. But their believing on Jesus is only a concept or mental assent, but not a trusting on, clinging to and relying upon Jesus for salvation which is needed for eternal life. They use Biblical terms, but don’t have the eternal life which all have who have Jesus. In 1 John 5:12,13 the Bible reads: He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. God’s word declares that one has eternal life or not on the basis of having Jesus or not. An association with any group, organization or denomination is not necessary, according to the Bible. Remember also that Cornelius got forgiven instantly upon placing his faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 10:34-43). Eternal life came to him and his household with very little knowledge of God and his ways. Focusing on Jesus was the key for him as well as others, including the Philippian jailer. The Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30-34 believed on Jesus, that is, trusted on him to the point of submission and obedience and found salvation instantly. He did that in response to how he could get saved. NOTE: Paul and Silas did not tell him he has to take in knowledge for salvation. His salvation came before he was water baptized, before he joined any group and without a 6 month book study. He also took in very little knowledge before getting eternal life. 1 John 5:12,13 also teaches a present tense possession of eternal life for those who have Jesus, which the JWs also deny. If you are a Jehovah’s Witness listen again to 1 John 5:12,13: He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. The best way to clear yourself of false teachings that you have been taught is to drop all preconceived ideas about Scripture, go directly to the New Testament itself apart from all other books and publications, read it and change accordingly. Remember, you are reading 100% truth when you are reading the Bible, but in this case make sure you are not reading The New World Translation since it is far from an accurate translation. It is easy to discover the NWT is not an accurate translation by reading the literal Greek translation found in their own Kingdom Interlinear Translation. To do such will not only show that The New World Translation is not accurate but also reveal the dishonesty and deceptions being spread by the Watchtower headquarters. Remember Jesus taught false prophets are deceivers. Remember also, Jesus’ disciples were first called Christians at Antioch (Acts 11:26). They did NOT go by the term Jehovah’s Witnesses. We have much more information on the Jehovah’s Witnesses and why their teachings are lethally wrong on our web site which is http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/jehovah.htm Jesus, YHWH Of The Old Testament Dan Corner Jesus, el YHWH del Antiguo Testamento [Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety, but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind, including the author, ministry name and address at the end. Nothing may be removed from this page including links to other pages.] As someone once stated, Jesus of Nazareth is either Lord, liar or lunatic. For those of us who know that the Bible is the inspired word of the living God, we come to a most important verse regarding the Lord Jesus’ identity, which many overlook. Jesus taught: And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form (John 5:37). What an amazing statement for those to ponder who are aware of the Old Testament (OT). The reason is because people did hear God’s voice and see his form! How then could Jesus say it was NOT the Father that they heard or have seen! Was Jesus mistaken at John 5:37 or could there be another explanation regarding who was heard and seen as God in OT times? Please ponder the following Scriptures which prove that YHWH was heard in OT times: Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again (Num. 11:25). Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live? (Dt. 4:33) And you said: Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives. Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? (Dt. 5:24-26) According to all you desired of the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die (Dt. 18:16). Yet other Scriptures teach that YHWH was seen in OT times: And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved” (Gen. 32:30). Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank (Ex. 24:9). And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, because we have seen God!” (Judges 13:22). So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice (1 Kings 11:9). So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses? (Num. 12:8). God was both seen and heard in OT times, yet by Jesus’ authority it was not the Father! Who then was it? Consider also John 1:18: No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. Jesus and Paul The Lord Jesus shocked the unbelieving Jews in his day when he identified himself as the YHWH of the OT by identifying himself as the "I am" that appeared to Moses in Ex. 3:13,14. That OT Scripture reads: Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.' " Jesus revealed his identity, as he stated that he himself spoke to Moses at John 8:58: "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" Then later, the Apostle Paul stated the following: They [the Israelites] were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor 10:2-4) If you would read through the OT, YHWH is shown to be the rock: I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. (Deut. 32:3,4) Comparing the OT With the NT Another similar kind of enigma for some comes from comparing OT Scriptures to New Testament (NT) Scriptures. Closely compare the following sets of Scriptures to learn more about the true, hidden identity of Jesus of Nazareth: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God (Isa. 40:3). In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’” (Mt. 3:1-3). According to Matthew, the prophet Isaiah wrote about John the Baptist, who was to prepare the way for the Lord, or as Isaiah wrote the LORD (YHWH). Yet, it was John who prepared the way for Jesus: I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Mt. 3:11). John prepared the way for Jesus, according to Matthew, but Isaiah says John, who he called the voice, prepared the way for YHWH! Lord of lords There is more for you to consider. In Dt. 10:17, we read: For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes (Dt. 10:17). Note: according to the OT Scripture, YHWH is not only God, but also Lord of lords. Yet in the NT we clearly read that Jesus is Lord of lords: They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers (Rev. 17:14). Furthermore, the NT reveals that the King of kings and Lord of lords is God: which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15). Who then is the Lord of lords? The OT says YHWH is Lord of lords, but the NT claims the same for Jesus! Can there be two who are Lord of lords? Was YHWH Ever Pierced? Next, let’s consider who was pierced. In the NT, we read the following about Jesus: Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced” (John 19:34-37). The only Scripture that John could have been referring to when he wrote, “... as another scripture says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced’ ” is the following one: And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son (Zech 12:10). YHWH spoke those words through the prophet Zechariah, as is apparent if we would read from Zech. 12:1 down through verse 10. Note: YHWH is speaking and uses the word me in conjunction to being the one that gets pierced. Yet the Apostle John referred to the same Scripture (Zech 12:10) and says that it was fulfilled when Jesus was pierced on the cross by the Roman soldier’s spear! Who was pierced, YHWH or Jesus? Since Jesus is YHWH this puzzle is solved, along with John 5:37. A Stone That Causes Men To Stumble Another similar problem for some arises when we compare Isa. 8:13,14 to something that the Apostle Peter wrote! The following is the passage from Isaiah: The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare (8:13,14). Question: Did Isaiah the prophet say that YHWH will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall? Clearly he did. Why then do we read the following about Jesus? Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” and, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for (1 Pet. 2:7,8). Is YHWH or Jesus a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall? Or why did the Apostle Peter refer to a Scripture that was written about YHWH Almighty and make it apply to Jesus? Are all these contradictions or is Jesus YHWH? All Things Were Created For Whom? There is yet more to consider. Were all things created for YHWH or Jesus? Ponder this: The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil (Prov. 16:4). But the Apostle Paul wrote the following about Jesus: For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him (Col. 1:16). Then we have this passage: So I said: “Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days; your years go on through all generations. In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you remain the same, and your years will never end” (Psa. 102:24-27). That, too, is a problem for some when it is compared to the following passage written about Jesus: But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom .... He also says, In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end (Heb. 1:8,10-12). Psa. 102:24-27 is written about the eternal God, but the same Scripture is applied to Jesus in the NT! How can this be unless Jesus is YHWH? First and Last According to the following, the First and the Last is YHWH, the Almighty: This is what the LORD says--Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God (Isa. 44:6). Listen to me, O Jacob, Israel, whom I have called: I am he; I am the first and I am the last (Isa. 48:12). Yet Jesus called himself the same in the NT: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last (Rev. 1:17). To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again (Rev. 2:8). I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End (Rev. 22:13). The Savior Who is the Savior? The OT declares this: Declare what is to be, present it--let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me (Isa. 45:21). YHWH, the righteous God, is the Savior, according to Isaiah. But the NT reveals the Savior to be Jesus, for He alone has the name in which salvation is found: He is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:11,12). And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). Our Refuge In whom are we to take refuge? Clearly, the OT declares it is to be the Son: Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him (Psa. 2:12). Notice: one is blessed and not cursed to take refuge in the Son. Yet the following Scripture declares another problem for all who reject the deity of Christ: This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him” (Jer. 17:5-7). Moreover, the Bible is clear to say YHWH is our Refuge: You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the LORD is their refuge (Psa. 14:6). The Bible is hopelessly filled with these types of contradictions for all who reject the Trinity and deity of Christ, but for those of us who accept the Scriptures and what they teach about the Lord’s identity there are no problems! Jesus is not the Father, but he is YHWH by nature. Review Questions Did the Lord Jesus teach that no one in OT times has ever heard or seen the Father? Was Jesus teaching the absolute truth when he taught that in John 5:37? Did anyone in the OT Scriptures ever see the form or hear the voice of YHWH? Can you name the various people who did? Is the Bible free of contradictions? How does that truth compare with John 1:18? Is YHWH the "I AM" of Exo. 3:13,14? Did Jesus identify himself as "I AM" (Jn. 8:58)? Is there any other "I AM" that Jesus could have referred to in the OT other than Exo. 3:14? Was Christ "the Rock" that accompanied the Israelites in Moses' day? Is YHWH shown to be the "Rock" in the OT? Can we compare various sets of OT and NT Scriptures to learn the true, hidden identity of Jesus of Nazareth? Did Isaiah write that the voice would prepare the way before YHWH? Was that same voice identified as John the Baptist in the NT? Did John the Baptist prepare the way before Jesus? Is Jesus YHWH, but not the Father? Is YHWH Lord of lords? Is Jesus Lord of lords Is Jesus YHWH, but not the Father? Was YHWH ever pierced? Did the Apostle John apply that same Scripture which teaches that YHWH was pierced and apply it to Jesus? Does your understanding of Jesus’ identity allow you to do the same? Who is the stone that causes men to stumble? All things were created for whom? Does Jesus change like part of creation? Is the first and the last Almighty (Isa. 44:6)? Is Jesus called the first and the last (Rev. 1:17; 2:8)? Can there be two who are the first and the last? Is YHWH the Savior? Is Jesus the Savior? Who has the only name is which salvation is found? Is YHWH our Refuge? Is Jesus your Refuge? Jesus Is Not the Father, But is Deity Dan Corner [Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety, but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind, including the author, ministry name and address at the end. Nothing may be removed from this page including links to other pages.] Both the Jehovah’s Witnesses (who deny the deity of Christ) and the United Pentecostals (also known as “Apostolics” or “Jesus Only”), who affirm the deity of Christ, teach erroneously about the two separate personages of the Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus. The Jehovah’s Witnesses misrepresent Christians who believe in the Trinity by saying that we teach Jesus is the Father; while the United Pentecostals will argue that the Father and Son are the same person. Much doctrinal confusion, to say the least, has been created by these groups and their teachings. Two Separate Persons—Plurality The word both indicates plurality and is found in Scripture distinguishing the Father from the Son: Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:9) If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. (John 15:24) Again, Christians who correctly believe in the Trinity, do not believe Jesus is the Father though we do believe Jesus is deity like the Father is. Furthermore, the words we and our also indicate plurality between the Father and Son: Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” (John 14:23) That They May Be One as We Are One! Christians are to be one as the Father and Son are one: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. (John 17:11) I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: (John 17:22) This refers to one in unity not one in person. Jesus and the Father are Two! Jesus taught the following: But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me.” Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” (John 8:16-19) Two separate and distinct personages are shown in that passage when referring to Jesus and the Father, just like in the Old Testament passage, which the Lord referred to. In other words, they are two just like 1+1=2. Did Jesus Pray to Himself? Furthermore, Jesus prayed to the Father. This also shows he can’t be the Father. If he was, then he prayed to himself, which is ludicrous: Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46) After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” (John 17:1) Did Jesus Send Himself? If you believe Jesus is the person of the Father, then you are also going to have to believe that Jesus sent himself into this world: What about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, “I am God’s Son”? (John 10:36) As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. (John 17:18) That all of them may be one, Father, just as you 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. (John 17:21) I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:23) Jesus is God’s Unique, One-of-a-kind Son The United Pentecostals will sometimes argue that a person can be both a father and a son (as well as a husband) and all at the same time. While this may be true on occasions in the natural, such a person is never a father, a son (and husband) to the same person. Furthermore, Jesus (the Word) is a separate person who was with the Father before he came to earth: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:5) The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. (1 John 1:2) The Lord Jesus later returned to the Father: Jesus said, “I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me.” (John 7:33) The Father and Son must be understood as being two separate persons to make sense out of all of the aforementioned Scriptures and the following ones, which show the same by the word and: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Pet 1:2) Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. (2 John 1:3) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:2) Hence, the Apostles Peter, John and Paul all believed the Father and Son are two separate persons and wrote in that way. Similarly, ponder the following important Scripture which, like many others, proves that salvation is conditional, as well as plurality between the Father and Son: Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. (1 John 2:22-25) [Clearly, wrong doctrine can cause a Christian to lose his salvation. See also 1 Cor. 15:2; 2 John 9 and Gal. 5:2-4. This fact disproves another false doctrine (the heresy of eternal security).] God is Spirit, But Jesus Isn’t Referring to the Father, Jesus said: God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24) In contrast, Jesus said of himself: Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39) Therefore Jesus can’t be the Father (who is spirit), since he has flesh and bones which a spirit does not have. No One Has Heard or Seen the Father, But Did Hear and See Jesus Furthermore, no one has ever heard or seen the Father at any time, according to Jesus: And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor seen his form. (John 5:37) No sane person would deny that people both saw and heard Jesus teach, but Jesus said the same people never heard the Father and never saw his form. Again, we can only deduce Jesus cannot be the Father. Here are Scriptures to show people did see Jesus: But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. (John 6:36) Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) What did Jesus mean when he spoke the following? Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9) Jesus was saying that in him we see how the Father would express himself under the same circumstances. This is shown in the following: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Heb 1:3) God Often Refers to the Person of the Father Only but Not Always Another truth that will help many understand this plurality between the Father and Son as well as the deity of Christ is to know that the term God often refers only to the Father, but at other times to the Son and at other times to the Holy Spirit. This is shown in the following three verses respectively: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 1:3) Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27,28) Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3,4) Jesus at the Father’s Right Hand The ascended Lord Jesus is most often sitting at the right hand of the Father, but once he was seen standing at the Father’s right hand: “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56) Stephen saw two personages when he was dying. Also, Jesus is shown elsewhere taking the scroll from God (the Father) who was sitting on the throne: He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. (Rev 5:7) All through the Scriptures we find evidence that Jesus is not the Father, but is deity (God by nature) like the Father. With all of this evidence about plurality between the Father and Son, how multitudes have been deceived about this is alarming to say the least. It seems once again that a creed or doctrinal confession has been the basis for one’s personal belief rather than the Holy Scriptures. The truth is: Jesus is not the person of the Father, but he is deity like the Father. Please see other related articles at: Jesus is YHWH The Trinity Answering The Most Common Objections To The Deity Of Christ
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