Who Is Jesus #3

Comparing God to an Idol?

Fred R. Coulter

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Just to give you a little inkling of how this is really a topic going on in the different Churches of God and in the world, here’s the Plain Truth magazine, which we’re all familiar with from the past, and they have an article entitled Jesus: Man, Myth or God? It is a very short article dealing with: Was Jesus God before He was in the flesh? I’m not going to read it. It can’t be much more than about 800 words. 

But I’m here to tell you that this little article will do nothing to convince anyone who really wants to get in depth with it, because this is just pabulum! Since they have stopped the Good News magazine now, this is their deep spiritual meat. 

Then The Sabbath Sentinel (put out by the House of Yahweh) says: Announcing our newest booklet, Did Yeshua Messiah Pre-exist? So, they’re having problems with it, too. The Church of God Seventh Day has had problems with it. Here’s this booklet put out by Anthony Buzzard: Who Is Jesus? Where they are saying that Jesus did not exist until He was conceived in Mary’s Womb. Just to give you an alert as to what is in this one: 

Did Yeshua Messiah Pre-exist? (The House of Yahweh): 

This book was written in order to alert the world to the deadly deceptions and to make everyone aware of the life-saving truths. After you finish reading this thoroughly documented 435-page book, you’ll agree that there has been a nefarious tampering with the inspired Scriptures themselves by pagan intellectuals who are determined to keep the Roman Empire intact, rather than adhere to the inspired Word of Yahweh. 

I can tell you where they’re going! Yahweh is the Father, so Jesus did not exist until He was created in Mary’s womb. 

Then here is an article, and I will ask: Do sacred names do you any good? Here’s a picture of a man who has led a black sect and he’s in chains—leg-cuffs and handcuffs—and he’s going to jail. The charismatic sect leader led a rain of terror, including murders and proof of the murder is that you cutoff their ears and bring them back and give it to this religious leader whose name is none other than Yahweh Ben-Yahweh—that is God, the Son of God. 

He says that blacks are the true Jews and not the Jews. This world is going crazy, bananas! It’s upside down and filled with stupidity! You tell me that sacred names lead you to God, what about this, they pronounced it right: Yahweh Ben-Yahweh. 

I’m approaching this from an entirely different perspective, because most everyone is missing the important reason as to why there is this tremendous attack on Jesus. The reason they are missing it is because they are looking to the wrong place, and they’re coming up with the wrong premise and the wrong conclusions. There are several factors that are involved in this, which become very important. 

I have read several pages out of this book: Judaism and the Vatican. I won’t go back over that again, except to read in one place a very, very important statement. Then I’m going to read a little bit about the Jewish ‘religious façade’ into Catholicism and Protestantism to do everything to Judaize both of them. You’ll have to listen/read #2 this series before you will grasp the full extent as to what I’m going to cover today. 

I will say right here categorically that everything that leads to the de-emphasizing of Jesus from whatever degree—from being God Who has saved us, which is the ultimate; down to that He’s a man, a Prophet, a parable speaker—comes from the Jews. They have infiltrated to make that a fact in the theology of whatever Christian institution they can fit into. 

Did we not have that in—where many of us were—in Worldwide (Church of God)? We need to be just straight upfront with this. Did we not have that in Worldwide where once the Church reached a certain position and was really preaching the Gospel in power, and was really just beginning to have an impact? All of a sudden we had two Jews show-up on the scene! We are not followers of Herbert Armstrong; there are some out there saying we are following Herbert. 

You’ve got to follow Christ! If you follow Armstrong then you’re going to follow a fallible man, and his teachings were not all entirely correct, although he had a substantial amount of Truth, which he got from the Church of God Seventh Day. 

Here comes a man—Stanley Rader—a supposedly converted Jew who comes into the organization and immediately accesses himself to the top and one of the first things he does is to get Herbert Armstrong in his world travels to preach the Gospel without using the name of Jesus. That is the way that the operation takes place. 

Here is why: most people do not understand this. It is written by a Jew, Judaism and the Vatican. This is an astounding book. This is an absolutely incredible book. You cannot understand why there are so many false doctrines coming into every form of Christianity unless you understand what is in this book; unless you understand how the Jews think of Christianity. How do they think of Christianity? What do the Jews think of the name Jesus? 

Judaism and the Vatican by Leon De Poncins and Timothy Tindal: 

pg 125—written by A. Nemi from a book that he wrote concerning Christians—Jew writing about Christians 

Do Christians realize what the name of Jesus, their God, can mean to a Jew? For a Christian, even an atheist it evokes, or at least has evoked at some time, a Being infinitely good, Who offers Himself as the good Who desires that at least carries on the torch of bygone philosophies and all morals. For the Christian who is still a believer, Jesus epitomizes and fulfills the better part of Himself. 

The Christian who has ceased to believe no longer takes that ideal seriously. He may even resent it and accuse the priest of incompetence or even of deception. 

He’s speaking, in this case, of Catholics who get turned off with the Catholic Church. Or we can say of any Christian anywhere who gets turned off with the church, still—even though he doesn’t believe in God totally—he’s not willing to absolutely reject it. There are a lot who have been in Worldwide and different Churches of God who are in the same category. 

There may even be some on our mailing list who are in the same category. ‘I don’t know about this God bit, this Jesus bit.’ It seems like every time a man is involved it goes haywire! True! You know why? Because most are not willing to point the people to God the Father and Jesus Christ! That is the whole key point in it. 

I received a letter about some great prophetic thing, and I called the fellow and said, ‘Send me the stuff, I’m not going to go against what he says until I read what he has, because anyone who answers a matter before they hear it, is a fool.’ I’m going to go over it, but the Church has been literally assaulted, and, of course, Satan is the one behind it to bring all these things into the Church. What does a Jew think of? 

Though he denounces it as an illusion, he generally leaves no doubt as to the grandeur and beauty of that illusion. 

There it is! It’s good for people who want ‘religion’! 

To the Jew, on the other hand, who still believes and professes his own religion… 

Most people are under the total misconception that the Jewish religion is based on the Old Testament. It is not! It is based on the Talmud! This is what we need to understand. 

…to the Jew who still believes and professes his own religion… 

which is the Talmudism and the Kabbalah

…Christianity is the greatest theological and metaphysical usurpation in history. 

Those are pretty heavy words! 

It is a spiritual scandal, a subversion and blaspheme… 

Isn’t that what they accuse Jesus of?

…to all Jews—even if they are atheists—the name of Jesus is the symbol of a threat, or that great threat that has hung over their heads for centuries that may, at any moment, burst forth and catastrophes of which they know neither the cause or the prevention. 

That name has been part of the accusation, the absurd and frenzied and so effectively cruel that it makes social life barely livable. That name has, in fact, come to be one of the signs, one of the names of the immense apparatus that surrounds the Jew, condemns him, excludes him. 

I hope my Christian friends will forgive me. That they may better understand, let me say that to the Jews, their god is… 

The Christian God or Catholicism, all forms of Christianity!

…in a way, the devil! If, as they say, the devil is the symbol and essence of all evil on earth; iniquitous and all powerful, incomprehensible and bent on crushing helpless human beings. 

With this kind of thing in mind, how do they fight back? What is one of the weapons that they use to fight back? They use the spiritual or the religious Mossad! 

How many have ever heard of the name Marranos? It shows us how ignorant we are of history. We come along with our red, white and blue and wave the flag, we’ve been a Christian nation. Do you understand what happens when people hear that? Do you understand why there are lawsuits by the ACLU, generally a Jewish-named attorney who gets rid of anything to do with Christian, any prayer in school, any prayer before any meeting, no prayers before football games, ‘because I, as a Jew, am offended at hearing the name of Jesus.’ That’s generally the reason behind it. Now, the Marranos: 

Marranos were Spanish Jews in semblance converted to Christianity. 

Think conversion! Does this sound a little familiar? The two Jews who came to Worldwide supposedly converted. I will tell you, they still go to the synagogue on Friday night. So, they were in semblance converted. 

It was from 1391 onwards, according to greats, following the religious persecution that many Jews in Spain decided to adopt the Catholic faith. 

There was nothing new in this because long before them their ancestors of the Dispersion had already recourse to this ruse either to escape religious persecution or for motives of sheer material gain. 

However, that may be while they ostensively practiced Catholicism the Marranos all the while secretly followed the rights of Judaism to which they had remained deeply attached. 

The Spanish people were not deceived as to the sincerity of the religious belief of the new Christians. With good reason, the Spaniards were suspicious of them and called them Marranos—which means a curse damned or swine.

Now you know one of the reasons why the Catholics started the Spanish Inquisition. There are all these Jews in here tearing down the Catholic Church. If it were just the Catholic Church we could divorce ourselves from it and say that we won’t fault them for doing that. But they did it to the Protestants, and they are still doing it today. Here’s what they did: 

They made themselves appear to be zealously submitting to the authority of the church. They went much further and carried the deceit to extreme limits. Thus it was that many of them, both men and women—did not hesitate to answer religious orders, which they were no way obligated to do, and became monks and nuns. 

Did you know that?I didn’t know that!

What’s more Marranos became priests and even bishops. If Jewish historians had not told us, we would hardly have believe it. 

They were responsible once they got into power for bringing down the Spanish throne! 

Protestantism had its Marranos, too. 

The Church of God has had its Marranos, too; in particularly the Worldwide Church of God. 

As you will recall, they want to Judaize or paganize every religion in the world so that they will sit at the fulcrum of all the nations, and God must bless them and curse the rest of the world. A doctrine of Balaam! Don’t be deceived with this coming Jewish/Messianism that is swooping in Israel. They are not looking for God to return; they are looking for a human hero, a human man that will fit the Scriptures of the Old Testament to bring the victory for the Jews over their enemies. Be careful that you don’t get carried away when that starts. 

Protestantism had its Marranos, too. Secret Jews were numerous among the Protestant refugees of the seventeenth century at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, as Werner Sombart tells us. In Germany for instance, we can rate the famous poet, Henry Heine, as a Protestant Marrano.... 

And a lot of those Protestant Marranos in Germany became German rationalists. What did they do to the New Testament? Tore it asunder! Made it a myth! Theologically they were getting rid of Jesus as much as they could. That’s why we had all of this nonsense theology going on because of the Marrano Jews within Protestantism. 

Amazing as it may seem, this is how Graetz refers to Heine and to his co-religionist, Louis Boerne [i.e., Ludwig Börne, born Loeb Baruch], both of them converts to Protestantism. I quote from a passage in Geschichte der Juden, volume xi, page 368, which was omitted from the French translation by Moses Bloch: 

The Jews feel at liberty to change history, re-write it, and you’re seeing it today right on the news today; right before your very eyes it’s happening. 

“They were divorced from Judaism only superficially, like fighting men who put on the armor and colors of their enemy in order to strike him down and destroy him with greater certainty and vigor. 

Do we see that happening today? Absolutely! Is it still going on in the Worldwide Church of God? {since this message was given, WCG no longer exists}We need to really get our eyes opened to know what’s going on! This is why when you read that ‘we’ve got to get back to Jewishism, we’ve got to get back to monotheism.’ This is why the Jews will deny their own language to deny Jesus. 

“In a passage of his History of the Jews, Graetz tells us of Spanish and Portuguese Marranos who, behind the mask of Christianity and in the habit of monks, ‘jealously cherished the sacred flame of their paternal religion, and at the same time undermined the foundations of the powerful Catholic monarchy.’ 

“If it is only reasonable for a Jew not to give up his religion and even to preserve the worship of his race and ancestors secretly, all the while behaving as a loyal citizen in the land of his adoption, it is incomprehensible that he should take advantage of his French or German citizenship… [or United States citizenship] …for instance, to undermine the institutions and customs of his new fatherland; in other words, to overthrow everything. 

That’s what’s happening! That’s why this nation has been inundated with human secularism! Now they’re going after the final belief that Jesus is God. If they somehow can water that down, regardless, they are in all the seminaries, and what are we reading out of this booklet Who is Jesus? by Anthony Buzzard? We’re reading quotes by seminarians!We’re reading quotes by theologians!

There’s a book out about the Apostle Paul—now hold onto your seats—a Jew didn’t write it, but I’ll bet a Jew is publishing it: The reason that the Apostle Paul is so against women was because he was a frustrated homosexual! Anything to take away from the validity of the New Testament, it is always assaulted! All right, you know where it came from, the Marranos or the infiltrators! 

• that’s what I see in this book 
• that’s where that theology is traced 

Let’s look at a little bit of this. I have right here The Concordant Version of the Bible. It’s a verbatim translation. We’ve talked about the word Elohim, which we’re going to get into some depth today. 

Genesis 1:26 (CV): “And Elohim said: ‘Let Us make humanity in Our image and according to Our likeness. Let them hold sway over…’” 

Languages have certain inherent things in them, by nature and their structure. The Hebrew plural denotes two unless the context calls for more. So, what does Elohim mean where you have the plural pronouns? It means two! So, Rashi, their great expert—which I read to you in part two of this series—says that it doesn’t mean that there were more than one God, but God showing His humility asks permission of the lesser of His council—being the angels—so that He could make man, which is a Marrano tactic to deny Jesus. That’s exactly what it is. 

The Jews, since the Bar Kokhba Revolution—that’s a whole fulcrum in history right there—have adamantly become monotheists. And that’s where this is coming from. All you have to do is go through the book of Acts, look at the reaction of the unbelieving Jews had toward the apostles, toward the preaching of the Gospel and everything. 

You go through and they have sanitized history, because this Marranoism started right after the death of Jesus to cleanse the secular history that Jesus existed. That’s why Josephusbarely mentions Him, and it’s even thought that someone added that into it later. That’s why Philo doesn’t mention Him. You go right on down the line, but we’re stuck with another problem: 

We have the Dead Sea scrolls—why are they not published? I have the supposition that it has an awful lot to do with what it says about Jesus! Why? Because Paul said this was not done in a corner!Paul said that this was known everywhere! He even said, ‘King Agrippa, you come down here on the coast, you know!’ King Agrippa said, ‘You almost persuade me to become a Christian.’ 

What did John say? John 20:30: “Now then, Jesus did many other miracles in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. 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 through His name” (vs 30-31). 

John 21:25: “But there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I do not suppose that even the world itself could contain the books that would be written. Amen.” 

That tells us an awful lot! This tells us that Satan’s plan of sanitizing the Christianity of Christ to bring Him down to a lesser level than He really was has been an ongoing thing. Isn’t it strange that if Jesus did all these things that Josephus—a Pharisee—did not mention it? 

Let’s get back to this thing concerning Elohim. Elohim is a masculine plural, which means gods in the ordinary sense, but specifically used in the plural, thus especially with the article of the Supreme God. So, we have in the Old Testament elohim, meaning a god when it is the definite article the elohim; or as we have in Gen. 2, Yahweh Elohim. Or we have it that it is plural. There is no doubt whatsoever that Elohim is plural, and when it is ‘Let Us make man in Our image’ there is no doubt it means two. No one can say that in the Old Testament that there is not a hint of anything other than monotheism. 

Who Is Jesus? by Anthony Buzzard 

However, the sensitive reader of Scripture will be aware that a single text should not be allowed to overthrow the Old Testament’s insistence that only one Person is truly God. It should not be forgotten that the sacred oracles were committed to the Jews… 

But those aren’t the only ones that were written, not just the Old Testament. There’s the New Testament. 

…none of whom thought that a divine title given to the Messianic King meant that he was a member of an eternal Godhead, now composed suddenly and mysteriously of two Persons, in contradiction of all that the heritage of Israel had stood for. The “mighty god” of Isaiah 9:6 is defined by the leading Hebrew lexicon… 

Isa. 9:6 is a prophecy of Jesus, and I want to prove to you from this exactly how the Hebrew Lexicons have sanitized this; getting rid of every reference of Jesus. 

Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God…” The Hebrew there means The Mighty El, which is the reverse structure of El Shaddai that is Almighty God, or God Almighty. This is the Mighty God. 

…as “divine hero… 

Did you get that?

…reflecting the divine majesty.” The same authority records that the word “god” used by Isaiah is applied elsewhere in Scripture to “men of might and rank”… 

The Jews believed in calling men god! If they are monotheists, why should they do that? You’re trapped in your own reasoning! Sure you are, to try and get rid of the fact that the Savior is going to be “…The Mighty God, The Prince of Peace.” They say, ‘Oh no, that means a man.’ Where it says The Mighty God in another place, does it mean God or man? You can’t have it both ways! We’ll cover some other ticky-tacky Scriptures here. 

…as well as to angels. As for “eternal father,” this title was understood by the Jews as “father of the coming [Messianic] age.” 

Nice way to get rid of it!

It was widely recognized that a human figure could be “father to the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem” (Isa. 22:21). 

Nice way to get rid of it!

Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore, the LORD Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which in the New Testament is being interpreted God with us! So now, this is all watered down and it’s not God with us, it’s a mighty individual. 

But if you will look at the word Immanuel what are the last two letters? ‘el’—meaning God! That was applied to Jesus. 

Isaiah 8:8: “And he shall sweep through Judah, overflowing as he passes through; he shall reach even to the neck. And the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.” God with us—O Immanuel—was going to turn back the Assyrian. That’s what it means there. It’s not calling the Assyrian O Immanuel. 

Verse 9: “Make an uproar, O people, and be shattered in pieces! And give ear, all of you from the far countries of the earth. Gird yourselves and be broken. Gird yourselves and be broken! Take counsel together, and it shall be frustrated. Speak a word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us” (vs 9-10). That’s a prophecy of Jesus’ second coming, as well as the name applied to His first coming! 

We’re going to spend a little time in the Psalms talking about God, about Elohim. 

Who Is Jesus? by Anthony Buzzard: 

In Psalm 45 the “ideal” Messianic King is addressed as “god”… [Elohim] … but there is no need whatever to assume that Jewish monotheism has therefore been compromised. The word (in this case elohim) was applied not only to the one God but “to divine representatives at sacred places or as reflecting divine majesty and power” (Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver, and Briggs, pp. 42, 43). 

Really? Let’s see what it says: 

Psalm 45:6: “Your throne, O God [Elohim], is forever and ever… [You’re kind of stuck if the Messiah is only a human being. This is quoted in Heb.1.] …scepter of justice is the scepter of Your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows” (vs 6-7). 

If you read that, it’s stated right here categorically that there are two Gods! You can’t get away from it: “…therefore God, Your God…” The one it’s referring to is “Your throne, O God…” 

Let’s see that that was applied to Jesus Christ. This becomes amazing—doesn’t it? Hebrews 1:8: “But on the other hand, of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, is into the ages of eternity…’” 

Someone will say that that was after the resurrection. Okay, granted, we’ll give it to them, but He’s still called God and it’s prophesied that He is called God.

“‘…a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom. You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; because of this, God, even Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions’ And, ‘You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of the earth…’” (vs 8-10). Not one hint that Jesus was God? Come on, give me a break!

Psalm 82 has really ‘got em.’ We’ve got them here, right by the nap of the neck. 

The Jews understood him to be claiming equality with God. This gave Jesus an opportunity to explain himself. What he was actually claiming, so he says, was to be “Son of God” (v. 36), a recognized synonym for Messiah. The claim to sonship was not unreasonable, Jesus argued, in view of the well-known fact that even imperfect representatives of God had been addressed by Him in the Old Testament as “gods” (Ps. 82:6). Far from establishing any claim to eternal Sonship, he compared his office and function to that of the judges. 

Rather than Savior, rather than Messiah!

He considered himself God’s representative par excellence since he was uniquely God’s Son, the one and only Messiah, supernaturally conceived, and the object of all Old Testament prophecy. There is absolutely nothing, however, in Jesus’ account of himself which interferes with Old Testament monotheism or requires a rewriting of the sacred text in Deuteronomy 6:4. Jesus’ self-understanding is strictly within the limits laid down by God’s authoritative revelation in Scripture. Otherwise his claim to be the Messiah would have been invalid…. 

Since Jesus expressly denied that he was God in John 10:34-36, it will be most unwise to think that he contradicted himself elsewhere. 

So much for the book, if you want the booklet: {pdf version at: christianmonotheism.com/media/text/WhoIsJesusBook.pdf} 

Psalm 82:1: “God [El] stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods [elohim].” So, it is said that this judgment among the gods does not refer to God or gods, but to magistrates or judges. 

Verse 2: “How long will you judge unjustly and respect the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy; save them out of the hand of the wicked. They do not know, neither do they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken out of course. I have said, ‘You are gods [elohim]; and all of you are sons of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.’ Arise, O God [Elohim], judge the earth, for You shall inherit all nations” (vs 2-8) 

• IF these are judges, why would they be called ‘elohim’ if they were judging so badly, as it’s listed here? 

or 

• Is this not rather a prophecy of Jesus being God at the resurrection over the other ones who are born in the resurrection as gods—elohim, who will judge the world because the human judges have failed? 

Verse 6: “I have said, ‘You are gods…’” Is that referring to these judges? 

(go to the next track) 

Or is this not a prophecy of those who are going to be resurrected and be gods and share with Jesus in the judgment? That’s what it is! You cannot answer this by saying that this is only referring to human judges. 

Psalm 82:8: “Arise, O God, judge the earth, for You shall inherit all nations.” That’s got to be referring to Christ!

John 10 is where the author of the booklet Who Is Jesus? Anthony Buzzard says that Jesus specifically denied that He was God; specifically denied that He was the Son of God. Is that what Jesus specifically said? 

John 10:24: “Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, ‘How long are You going to hold us in suspense [doubt]? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I have told you, but you do not believe….’” (vs 24-25). 

• Did Jesus deny it? No!
• Did He answer it? No!

He told them what He told them and said:  “…you do not believe…” No denial whatsoever!

Verse 25: “‘But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall take them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one has the power to seize themfrom My Father’s hand…. [you’re in the Father’s hand, as well as Jesus’ hand] …I and the Father are one.’ Then the Jews again picked up stones so that they might stone Him” (vs 25-31). 

That’s an old practice in the city of Jerusalem; they still do it to this day. That’s because it’s a rocky place. Who knows they might have recycled stones of death. They’re stoning someone today with the same stones. 

Verse 32: “Jesus answered them, ‘Many good works I have showed you from My Father. For which of them are you about to stone Me?’ The Jews answered Him, saying, ‘We will not stone You for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, are making Yourself God’” (vs 32-33). Think on that statement that these Jews said!

• Did Jesus deny that? He didn’t deny it; He didn’t confirm it!
• What did He do? He referred to Psa. 82!

Verse 34: “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your law, “I said, ‘You are gods’”?’” That doesn’t answer the question, because He’s referring to a prophecy! 

How many times have we gone through the sayings and teachings of Jesus where to the Pharisees and other people He really doesn’t answer the question? Here’s what we have: 

Verse 35: “‘If He called them gods, to whom the Word of God came (and the Scriptures cannot be broken).’” 

That’s why I feel that it’s referring to those who are going to be gods, as the sons of God, at the resurrection and reigning with Christ. That’s what I think Psa. 82 really refers to, especially since Jesus quoted it here. 

Verse 36: “‘Why do you say of Him Whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, “You are blaspheming,” because I said, “I am the Son of God”?’” Very clear!It could not be clearer!

He did not deny that He was not God. He didn’t say that He was God, but He said that He was the Son of God. We’ll see when we get into the book of John why He had to say that He was the Son of God and could not outrightly say that He was God. Though He never, never denied it. 

I want you to read and study all the way through Isa. 40-46. I’m going to summarize some of the things here. We know very clearly that Jesus revealed the Father {see part 2 this series), which means that since He revealed the Father that the Father was not revealed in the Old Testament. It’s intimated in places, but it’s not revealed saying that there are two Gods. The Old Testament is not the full revelation. 

When we come to Isa. 40-46 we have the statements: ‘I am God and there is none else!’ We will see that is always in comparison to the gods and idols that people were making, all the way through. 

Isaiah 40:1: “‘Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people,’ says your God [your Elohim].” Who is the Elohim to Israel? The One Whose name is Yahweh!The Lord God!Yahweh Elohim!

Verse 3: “A voice is calling out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the LORD [Yahweh], make straight in the desert a highway for our God [Elohim].’” 

Verse 5: “And the glory of the LORD [Yahweh] shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD [Yahweh] has spoken.” It shows what God is going to do!It shows the power and return of Jesus Christ! 

Verse 9: “Go up for yourself on the high mountain; O you that brings good tidings to Zion. Lift up your voice with strength, O you who tell good tidings to Jerusalem; lift up, do not be afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’” 

• Did the cities of Judah behold Jesus? Yes!
• Are they also going to behold Jesus when He returns? Yes!

Verse 10: “Behold, the Lord GOD [Yahweh Elohim] will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” 

After showing great power and the return of Christ, then he says, v 12: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with a span? And who has comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, and who was His counselor that he might instruct Him? With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him and taught Him in the path of judgment, and taught Him knowledge, and made known the way of understanding to Him? Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the scales; behold, He takes up the isles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts of it sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before Him are as nothing; and they are counted by Him as less than nothing, and vanity” (vs 12-17). 

Powerful! That’s saying, ‘Who are you going to liken God to? Why does he start this section out this way? 

Verse 18: “To whom then will you compare God? Or what likeness will you compare to Him? The workman… [on the earth] …melts [molds] a graven image, and the goldsmith spreads it over with gold, and casts silver chains. He who is too poor for that offering chooses a tree that will not rot…” (vs 18-20). 

Watch any documentary on New Guinea and you will see that they carve their gods in trees that won’t rot, just like the Indians of the Northwest United States before it became the United States. They made totem poles out of cedar tree that do not rot. 

“…he seeks for a skillful workman for himself to prepare a graven image that will not totter. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers; it is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in; Who brings the rulers to nothing; He makes the judges of the earth as vanity” (vs 20-23). They’re not called ‘elohim’ here, by the way; they’re just judges!

Verse 24: “No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, then He shall blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away like stubble.” 

• Where is the activity? On the earth! 
• Are we comparing God to an idol? 

So, when He says, ‘I am Elohim,’ He’s saying that none of these idols are elohim. 

Verse 25: “‘To whom then will you compare Me, or who is My equal?’ says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, who has created these things, who brings out their host by number? He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for He is strong in power; not one fails. Why do you say, O Jacob, and O Israel you speak, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD [Yahweh] and my cause is disregarded by my God [Elohim]?’” (vs 25-27). 

Why? What were they doing? They were committing idolatry, making idols! That’s what the whole comparison is. 

Isaiah 41—God talks about the isles (v 1). Talks about righteous men and kings (v 2). Verse 3: “He pursued them; he passed on safely… [v 4]: Who has planned and done it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I [Yahweh], the LORD, am the First and the Last; I am He.” 

Verse 7: “So, the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smoothes with the hammer and him that strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, ‘It is good’; and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. ‘But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My friend; Whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called you from its uttermost parts. And I said to you, “You are My servant; I have chosen you, and have not cast you away. Do not fear; for I am with you; be not dismayed; for I amyour God… [Elohim—in relationship to an idol; the idol is not your Elohim, I am your Elohim] …I will strengthen you; yea, I will help you; yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.” Behold, all those who were angered against you shall be ashamed and confounded…’” (vs 7-11). 

Verse 13: “‘For I [Yahweh Elohim], the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.” Do not fear, you worm Jacob and men of Israel; I will help you,’ says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel” (vs 13-14). 

Verse 20: “‘So that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. Draw near withyour cause,’ says the LORD. ‘Bring out your strong reasons,’ says the King of Jacob. ‘Let them bring them out, and declare to us the things that shall happen; let them reveal the former things, what they are, that we may consider them and know the final end of them; or declare to us things to come. Reveal the things that are to come after this, so that we may know that you are gods [elohims]….’” (vs 20-23). 

All of this is idols on the earth and men who say they are gods compared to God, every one of these. That is not saying or denying that there is not another Elohim in heaven, which has not been revealed. It doesn’t say that anywhere. 

Verse 26: “Who has declared from the beginning, that we may know? And beforetime, that we may say, ‘He is right’? Yea, no one declares; yea, no one proclaims; yea, no one hears your words. I first said to Zion, ‘Behold! Behold them!’ And I gave to Jerusalem one who bears good news, for I looked, and there was no man; and there was no counselor among them, that I might ask and be given an answer. Behold, they are all false; their works are nothing; their images are wind and [confusion] vanity” (vs 26-29). You see the comparison all the way through here. 

Isaiah 42:5: “Thus says the LORD God [Yahweh], He who created the heavens and stretched them out, spreading forth the earth and its offspring; He who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it. ‘I the LORD [Yahweh] have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You, and give You for a covenant of the people, for a Light to the Gentiles… [a prophecy of Jesus] …to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness out of the prison house. I amthe LORD [Yahweh]; that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images” (vs 5-8). 

• Does that show just one God? 
• Give it to another? 

Another person who says “…that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another…”

• Did we not have an article here that we read about this man Yahweh Ben Yahweh? 

Living proof today, God says that He’s not going to give His name to another, nor His glory! It’s compared to men and idols. 

Isaiah 43:3: “For I am the LORD your God [Yahweh Elohim], the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you. Since you are precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life. Fear not; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west” (vs 3-5). 

Verse 11: “I, even I, am the LORD [Yahweh], and besides Me there is no savior.” Only God can save; It’s not denying that there’s another God—God the Father Who was not revealed. 

Isaiah 44:6: “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer even the LORD of hosts, ‘I am the First, and I am the Last; and besides Me there is no God [Elohim].’” The context tells us made by the hand of man!

Verse 7: “‘And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them declare it to us. Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time; and have declared it? So you are My witnesses. Is there a God [Elohim] besides Me? Yea, there is no other Rock; I know not one’” (vs 7-8)—where? On the earth!

Verse 9: “Those who make a graven image… [which they call elohim or el or yahweh] …are all of them vanity; and the things in which they delight shall not help; and they are their own witnesses. They do not see nor know, that they may be ashamed. Who has formed a god [elohim], or melted a graven image that is profitable for anything?” (vs 9-10). No one has! 

Verse 11: “Behold, all his companions shall be ashamed; and the craftsmen, they are of men. Let them all come together, let them stand up, they shall dread; they shall be ashamed together. The blacksmith fashions an axe. He works in the coals, and forms it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms. Then, he is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is weak. The carpenter fashions wood, and stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil; he shapes it with carving tools, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, to sit in the house. He cuts down cedars, and takes cypress and oak, which he makes of the trees of the forest strong for himself; he plants a tree, and the rain makes it grow. Then it shall be for a man to burn; for he will take some of it and warm himself. Yea, he kindles it and bakes bread; yea, he makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down to worship it. He burns part of it in the fire; with part of it he eats flesh; he roasts a roast and is satisfied; yea, he warms himself, and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire.’ And with the rest of it he makes into a god [elohim], his graven image… [nowhere denying that there is not God the Father at all; this is in comparison to idols] …he falls down to it and worships, and prays to it, and says, ‘Deliver me! For you are my god [elohim]!’” (vs 11-17). That’s what God is talking about here! 

Isaiah 45:5 “I am the LORD [Yahweh], and there is none else…. [He’s talking to Cyrus (v 1) about “…Jacob My servant…” (v 4). For Jacob there is one Yahweh.] …There is no God [Elohim] besides Me; I clothed you, though you have not known Me; that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none besides Me. I am the LORD [Yahweh], and there is none else… [compared to all of the idols] …I form the light and create darkness… [not the idols; not the elohims of men; not the graven images] …I make peace and create evil…. [none of the other things that people have worshipped] …I the LORD [Yahweh] do all these things” (vs 5-7). 

Verse 9: “Woe to him who fights with the One who formed him, a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or your work, ‘He has no hands’? Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What are you laboring over?’ Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the One who formed him, ‘Ask Me of things that are to come concerning My sons… [and daughters] …and concerning the work of My hands’” (vs 9-11). 

The whole thing here is all the way through referring to the very power of God compared to the non-existent power of idols, to which men ascribe idols. 

Verse 18: “For thus says the LORD… [Yahweh—God Himself] …the Creator of the heavens, He Himself is God [Elohim], Who formed the earth and made it; He has established it. He created it not in vain, but formed it to be inhabited. ‘I am the LORD [Yahweh], and there is no other… [of any of the gods, idols, on the earth] …I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth. I did not say to the seed of Jacob, “Seek me in vain.” I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, you who have escaped of the nations;. they have no knowledge who carry the wood of their graven image, and those who pray to a god that cannot save’” (vs 18-20). Idols again!

You may think that this is a little redundant in going through all of this, but I think it needs to drive the point home that nowhere is this saying or denying that there is not another Elohim, called the Father, in heaven above, which has not been revealed to Israel at this point; we proved in part 2 it was not revealed. Jesus said He came to reveal, so unless it’s revealed you don’t know! Therefore, unless He reveals it here, then He’s saying, ‘I am Elohim, there’s none else! I am Yahweh and there is none else compared to all your idols.’ 

Verse 21: “Declare and bring near; yea, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this of old? Who has told it from ancient times?…. [have any of these gods, these idols? No!] …Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God [Elohim] besides Me; a just God [Elohim] and a Savior; there is none besides Me. Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God [Elohim], and there is none else” (vs 21-22). 

There is no other Elohim! That’s why He said, ‘You shall have no other Elohim before Me.’ That’s what He’s talking about. 

Verse 23: “I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not turn back, that unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” 

To whom is this talking about? Every knee is going to bow to Jesus Christ; every tongue is going to profess the name of Jesus Christ, that He is Savior! That is Yahweh Elohim of the Old Testament. (Philip. 2). 

Isaiah 46:1: “Bel… [one of the pagan gods of Babylon] …bows down, Nebo… [one of the pagan gods] …stoops; their idols were upon the beasts and upon the cattle; the things you carried about have become a load, a burden for the weary. They stoop, they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but they themselves have gone into captivity” (vs 1-2). 

Verse 4: “Even to your old age I am He; and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made you, and I will bear you up; even I will carry you, and will deliver you. To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal, and compare Me, that we may be alike?” (vs 4-5). To whom?To any of the idols! To any of the gods!

Again, the comparison, v 6: “They pour gold out of the bag, and weigh silver with the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he makes it a god [elohim]; they fall down, yea, they bow down to it. They carry it upon the shoulder, they carry it and set it in its place, and it stands; it shall not move itself from its place….” (vs 6-7). 

Remember what happened to Dagon when the Ark was taken by the Philistines and they put it in the temple of Dagon? It fell down!The elohim Dagon fell down and broke off his head and hands!

“…Yea, one shall cry unto it, yet it cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble” (v 7). People bow down to idols. ‘Oh, save me,’ and mumble, whatever the idol may be. 

Verse 8: “Remember this, and show yourselves men: bring it again to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old; for I am God [Elohim], and there is none else… [no idol of a god that a man can make] …I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things which were not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure’” (vs 8-10). 

Then we have a whole church called the virgin daughter of Babylon of the Chaldeans. And God says, ‘I AM, and there is none else besides Me,’ (Isa. 47:8) and you’re going to fall because of you’ve called yourself ‘God.’ 

You go through and research all the way, and I defy you to find any place in there—though it says I am one God, I am Elohim—that it excludes that by these statements it predetermines that there cannot be another Elohim in heaven, which was not revealed; which was revealed in the New Testament as God the Father. 

Questions: 

Why did God write it that way?Because the revelation of God was not complete in the Old Testament! One of the fallacies of the Jews is that they say they have the complete Scripture. So, without the New Testament, looking at this you could build a pretty strong case for it. God has to reveal it. Even God says that He didn’t give it to them to understand!

Isaiah 28:9: “‘Whom shall He teach knowledge? And whom shall He make to understand doctrine? Those who are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts, for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little’; for with stammering lips and foreign tongue He will speak to this people” (vs 9-11). 

That’s why the New Testament has been preserved in Greek and not Hebrew. There’s a very profound reason for it. Do you think it would have survived Jewish censorship? No way!Wait until I tell you about the canonization of the New Testament; just enough to show you why John had to write what he wrote and when he wrote it. 

Verse 12: “To whom He said, ‘This is the rest He gives to the weary’ and ‘This is the refreshing,’ yet, they were not willing to hear. So then, the Word of the LORD was to them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken and snared and taken” (vs 12-13)—because of their sin and idolatry! What was said of Jesus? This is the Stone which you builders have set it not!

Isaiah 29:10: “For the LORD has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes; He has covered the prophets and your rulers, and the seers.” 

What are they going to do with the knowledge of God? Make an idol! Claim it for their own! Take it to themselves!

Verse 11: “And the vision of all has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which they give to one who is learned saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I cannot, for it is sealed.’ And the book is delivered to him who is not learned, saying, ‘Please read this,’ and he says, ‘I am not learned.’ And the LORD said, ‘Because this people draw near Me with their mouth, and with their lips honor Me, but their worship of Me is made up of the traditions of men learned by rote, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandments of men’” (vs 11-13). That’s why they don’t understand! They are taking the Word of God and turning it upside down! 

Verse 14: “‘Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do again a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder…”—a prophecy of Christ! Did He not do a marvelous work and wonder? Absolutely! Incredible!

“…for the wisdom of their wise ones shall perish, and the wisdom of their intelligent ones shall vanish’” (v 14). Has that happened to Judaism?To Catholicism?Yes! Absolutely!

Verse 15: “Woe to those who go deep to hide their purpose from the LORD! And their works are in the dark, and they say, ‘Who sees us? And who knows us?’ Surely, you have turned things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the potter’s clay; for shall the work say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me?’ Or shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘He had no understanding?’” (vs 15-16). 

That’s what we’re doing. People are saying, ‘God, You don’t know! We’re smart! We know! We have degrees!’ Nonsense!That’s why they don’t understand it! 

Example in the Old Testament of a Jewish king: 

• Remember the Jewish king that God heard? 
• That God changed the course of history for a few years because of him? 
• Why did God do that? 
• What was his name? 

One of the most famous Jewish kings in the Bible! 

• Why did God honor him? 
• Why did God bless him and hold off the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah? 

His name is Josiah!

• Why did God spare all of Jerusalem and Judah? 

Because when Josiah heard the words of the Law, he repented and his heart was tender before God!

God said, ‘Because your heart is tender, I’m not going to do it in your day.’ That’s exactly what we’re dealing with here in the book of Isaiah. 

Why don’t they understand? Because when they hear the Word of the Lord, they’re ready to argue about it, rather than have tender hearts and follow it, obey it, do it and live by it!

• they still want to cling to their covetousness 
• they still want to cling to their own ways 
• they still want to reject Jesus Christ 
• they still want to reject God and still have all the blessings of God 

What will happen? They’ll never understand a thing!

Why don’t some people understand the Scriptures? 

Even among the disciples of Jesus? 

Luke 24:25—this is after Jesus was walking with the two men going to the village, He called Emmaus to eat with them: “Then He said to them [the disciples], ‘O foolish and slow of heart…” [What does this do to your concept of the ‘tender little Jesus’ Who never said a bad word to anyone?] 

 “…to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning with Moses, and from all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (vs 25-27). The mind has got to be opened to it!

Verse 44: “And He said to them, ‘These are the words that I spoke to you when I was yet with you, that all the things which were written concerning Me in the Law of Moses and in theProphets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (vs 44-45). There’s the key! 

• How can people blind themselves in doctrine? By not believing!
• How can people be deceived with their own doctrines? 
• What happens in the clear light of Scripture? 

      It becomes their idol! 

      Their doctrine becomes their idol!

Ezekiel 14:2—this is in principle: “And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts…’”  (vs 1-3). 

• I want to be a minister 
• I want to be a prophet 

     nonsense 

     it’s their idol

• Who are the worshipping? 

     themselves

     their ideas

“‘…and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I at all be inquired of by them? Therefore, speak to them, and say to them, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him according to the multitude of his idols so that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart because they have deserted Me for their idols—all of them.’” Therefore say to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Repent and turn yourselves from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations’”’” (vs 3-6). 

That’s what a lot of people are going around promulgating a lot of doctrine, which is their own mental idol!

Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version (except where noted) 

Scriptural References: 

• Genesis 1:26 
• John 20:30-32 
• John 21:25 
• Isaiah 9:6 
• Isaiah 7:14 
• Isaiah 8:8-10 
• Psalm 45:6-7 
• Hebrews 1:8-10 
• Psalm 82:1-8, 6, 8 
• John 10:24-36 
• Isaiah 40:1, 3, 5, 9-10, 12-27 
• Isaiah 41:3-4, 7-11, 13-14, 20-23, 26-29 
• Isaiah 42:5-8 
• Isaiah 43:3-5, 11 
• Isaiah 44:6-17 
• Isaiah 45:5-7, 9-11, 18-23 
• Isaiah 46:1-2, 4-10 
• Isaiah 28:9-13 
• Isaiah 29:10-16 
• Luke 24:25-27, 44-45 
• Ezekiel 14:2-6

Scriptures referenced, not quoted: 

• Genesis 2 
• Isaiah 4:1-2 
• Philippians 2 
• Isaiah 47:8 

Also referenced: Books: 

• Did Yeshua Messiah Pre-exist? ( House of Yahweh)
• Judaism and the Vaticanby Leon De Poncins and Timothy Tindal (amazon.com) 
• The Concordant Version of the Bible (pdf version at: concordant.org/version/)
• Josephus

Booklet: Who Is Jesus? by Anthony Buzzard (christianmonotheism.com/media/text/WhoIsJesusBook.pdf)

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 5-23-13
Reformatted/Corrected: 2/2020