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1.
As Jehovah
Isa 40:3 A voice is calling,
"Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a
highway for our God.
Isaiah mentions Jehovah, the
Lord’s name in the Old Testament Hebrew, as coming in the wilderness,
and Mat 3:3 tells us Jesus is
coming in the wilderness. But it is a direct quotation about Jehovah as
Lord.
Matt 3:3 For this is the one
referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING
IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS
STRAIGHT!'"
In the New Testament Greek, the
word for Lord in this verse is: kurios (koo'-ree-os); from kuros
(supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by
implication, Mr. (as a respectful title):
The same word in this verse
quoted from the Old Testament, translated “Lord” as well, is the
Hebrew word “Jehovah”, used for our Almighty God of the OT. Yehovah (yeh-ho-vaw');
(the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God:
Again, the Greek NT word for
Lord is “Kurios”, and it means Lord, Master, owner, or Supreme
Controller.
While it can be used as a
respectful title, as in the case of Abraham, it is used many times for
Jehovah Elohim; He is called the Lord God.
The Septuagint (the Greek
translation of the Hebrew OT) records kurios more than 9000 times. The
term equals such Hebrew words as “adhon” and “ba’al”, and the Aramaic term
“mare”,, which all mean “lord”.
But first and foremost kurios is
used to translate God’s name as is depicted by the tetragrammaton YHWH
(Yahweh).
Kurios occurs more than 6000
times in the Septuagint for Yahweh.
But like the OT usage, kurios in
the New Testament also functions as the name of God.
Each person of the Godhead, the
Father, Son , and Holy Spirit, is called kurios. In the following texts
kurios is the equivalent of “adhon”, and Old Testament Hebrew name for the
Lord. See Mark 12:11/Psa 118:22; Mar 12:36/Psa 110:1, Acts 4:26/Psa
2:1.
God is frequently called “Lord”
in the OT citations and allusions found in the NT. The Father exercises
His authority as Lord over all His created universe.
Jesus praised Jehovah, the
Father, as “Lord”, or Kurios, with the address “Lord of heaven and earth”
in Mat 11:25, Luk 10:21.
This authority is primarily a
result of the fact that He is the creator of the universe: “God that made
the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and
earth…” (Acts 17:24).
God is also called the Kurios of
mankind, the Kurios of the harvest. (Mat 9:38)
The point is that Jesus is
given this same title. Jesus is called Kurios many times throughout the
NT, the same word used for God the Father as well.
Again, an even more compelling
fact to prove the deity of Jesus Christ, and His oneness with the Father,
is all the OT usages of Yahweh (Jehovah) quoted in the New Testament with
reference to Jesus Christ.
This is excellent proof for
Jehovah’s Witnesses to examine. They simply don’t understand how ONE God
can be in THREE Persons.
But when the scriptures give us
evidence after evidence of Jesus being spoken of as Jehovah, we must
conclude that Jesus is truly God(Jehovah) who took the form of a man.
Let’s go on with the Old
Testament titles for Jehovah (the one and only God), and see how the NT
states Jesus is the same Person as Jehovah of the OT.
2.
Jehovah of glory
Ps 24:7-10 Lift up your
heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory
may come in! Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The
LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O
ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of
glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory.
Notice it asks: “Who is the King
of glory?”- and the answer is “Lord” which again is “Jehovah”.
So Jehovah God is the King of
glory.
In 1Corinthians the Lord of
glory is said to have been crucified.
1 Cor 2:8 the wisdom which
none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood
it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
So Jehovah was crucified!
How could Jehovah be crucified?
Jesus Christ is given the
same title as OT Jehovah, the King or Lord of glory.
James 2:1 My brethren, do not
hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude
of personal favoritism.
3.
Jehovah our righteousness
Jer 23:5-6
5 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will raise up
for David a righteous Branch;
And He will reign as king and
act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 "In His days
Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His
name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness.'
The branch that comes from David
is the Messiah, a human being promised to come, and He is called “The
Jehovah our righteousness”!
What is the name of this Lord
our righteousness, who will come from the line of David and reign as king,
and do justice and righteousness in the land?
Well this prophecy says it is
Jehovah Himself who will be coming as the Messiah.
Read it again; the righteous
Branch himself will be called the Lord (Jehovah) our
righteousness.
Jehovah our righteousness
in the Hebrew is:
Yehovah Tsidqenuw (ye-ho-vaw'
tsid-kay'-noo; Jehovah (is) our right; Jehovah-Tsidkenu, a symbolical
epithet of the Messiah and of Jerusalem
Even without going to NT
passages, we can see that Jehovah is the One stated to come as David’s
righteous Branch, to reign in the land in justice and righteousness.
Of course we also know that the
Lord Jesus Christ is a direct descendant of David, both on Joseph’s side
and on Mary’s side! Mat 1, Luke 3
Rev 5:5, speaking of Jesus
Christ; and one of the elders said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the
Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has
overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals."
1 Cor 1:30-31 But by His
doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and
righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
1 John 5:20 And we know
that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we
may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven
opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages
war.
This is the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Rev 22:16 "I, Jesus, have
sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the
root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
And again, Jehovah is
said to be the One who will come from the line of David in Jer 23:5-6.
Part 2
A common question is “who is the
Messiah that was promised from the Old Testament?” and “who is Jesus
Christ? If He is the Messiah, is He equal to God the Father?”
In this study we will see that
Jesus Christ and God the Father, as well as God the Holy Spirit, are ONE
in the same!
There are many New Testament
passages that teach Jesus is God Himself, but today we will examine the
Old Testament names for God our Creator, and we will see Jesus is given
the same names and titles, proving He is not just a man, but God Himself
who left heaven to suffer and die in our place for our sins.
4.
Jehovah is above all.
In the Old Testament in Psa
97:9, Jehovah is said to be above all gods. For You are the LORD
Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods.
John the Baptist, speaking of
Jesus:
John 3:31 "He who comes
from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth
and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
So Jehovah is “above all gods”,
and Jesus is said to be “above all”. If Jesus were a lesser God, only a
Mighty God as the JW say, then how can He be said to be above all, if he
is a lesser God and Jehovah in Psa 97:9 is “far above all gods”?
We must conclude that Jesus is
“above all” just as Jehovah is “above all”.
People say that the Bible
never says Jesus was equal to God, but there are many scriptures which say
this, and/or give Jesus the qualities or powers that only Jehovah has.
John 5:18 For this reason
therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not
only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father,
making Himself equal with God.
Only Jehovah Elohim, the Lord
God, can give life.
Where does it say in the
scripture that angels have the power to raise the dead and give eternal
life to whomever they wish? If Jesus were an angel, as some teach, He
would not be given the power to do this.
Only Jehovah God, Lord Almighty,
has the power to do this.
Jesus knew Who He was and Where
He was from. He knew He was One with God in heaven, and now was in the
form of humanity to save the human race from their sins.
This is why at times He made
it clear that He had equality with the Father in His deity,
all the while listening to and obeying the Father in His humanity.
In Hypostatic Union, He is 100%
God and 100% Man at the same time, in One Person forever.
Jehovah God took on flesh to
save the world. This is why Mat 1:23 says of Jesus He is the Immanuel of
the OT, which means “God with us”.
This is what Phil 2:5-8 is all
about.
5.
Jehovah is the first and the last
Isa 44:6 "Thus says the LORD,
the King of Israel And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first
and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.
By the way, Jehovah is called
the King of Israel, and then Jehovah is called the Redeemer.
Jesus is called the Redeemer in
Rom 11:26-27, a reference from Isa 59:20.
But not to get sidetracked,
let’s get back to the first and the last.
Isa 44:6 says Jehovah is the
first and the last, and there is no God besides Him!
This points to the fact that
only Jehovah is the first and the last.
The New Testament gives this
same title to Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:17-18 When I saw
Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on
me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
It goes on to say that the first
and the last became dead at one point.
18 and the living One; and
I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys
of death and of Hades.
When was Jehovah, the God of the
OT, dead?! How could Jehovah die? He is the Lord God who is eternal
life. Unless He took the form of a man…
Now back to the Old Testament
prophets again.
Isa 48:12-16 12 "Listen
to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I
am also the last. 13 "Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right
hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together. 14
"Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has
declared these things? The LORD loves him; he will carry out His good
pleasure on Babylon, And His arm will be against the Chaldeans. 15 "I,
even I, have spoken; indeed I have called him, I have brought him, and He
will make his ways successful. 16 "Come near to Me, listen to this:
From the first I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I
was there. And now the Lord GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit."
Jehovah, the first and the
last, is speaking. And He is saying that the Lord God has sent Him,
and His Spirit!
Jehovah was sent by Jehovah!
And Jehovah’s Spirit was sent too! This is more evidence for the Trinity,
which is a separate study.
But if we find the Bible says
that Jesus is Jehovah God in the flesh, we have much more understanding of
the possibility that the Spirit is also Jehovah,
and that the Trinity truly is
One God in essence and attributes, but showing Himself in 3 Persons.
Rev 22:12-13 "Behold, I am
coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according
to what he has done. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the
last, the beginning and the end."
Jesus clearly says He is the
first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, which Jehovah declares only
Jehovah can be, when He says “there is no other God besides Me.”
The answer is simple: they are
One in the same God.
Isa 41:4 "Who has
performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from
the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"
Again the OT declares Jehovah is
the first and the last.
And again the NT mentions the
alpha and the omega (the first and the last) is the Almighty One.
Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha
and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come,
the Almighty."
So the Lord God Almighty,
Jehovah, is the Alpha and Omega, right?
But speaking of Jesus again,
the Bible says that HE is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end.
Rev 21:5-6 And He who sits
on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said,
"Write, for these words are faithful and true."
6 Then He said to me, "It
is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life
without cost.
7 "He who overcomes will
inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
Who gives to
the one who thirsts from the spring of water of life without cost?
John 4:7-14 There came a woman
of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." 8
For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
9 Therefore the Samaritan
woman said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink
since I am a Samaritan woman?" (For Jews have no dealings with
Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered and said to
her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me
a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living
water."
11 She said to Him, "Sir,
You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get
that living water?
12 "You are not greater
than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it
himself and his sons and his cattle?"
13 Jesus answered and said
to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again;
14 but whoever drinks
of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I
will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal
life."
In Rev 21:6, the Alpha and the
Omega is the One who gives the water of life!!!
Rev 7:17
17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and
will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every
tear from their eyes."
Rev 22:16-17 "I, Jesus,
have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am
the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
17 The Spirit and the
bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the
one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life
without cost.
Part 3
A common question is “who is the
Messiah that was promised from the Old Testament?” and “who is Jesus
Christ? If He is the Messiah, is He equal to God the Father?”
In this study we will see that
Jesus Christ and God the Father, as well as God the Holy Spirit, are ONE
in the same!
There are many New Testament
passages that teach Jesus is God Himself, but today we will examine the
Old Testament names for God our Creator, and we will see Jesus is given
the same names and titles, proving He is not just a man, but God Himself
who left heaven to suffer and die in our place for our sins.
6.
Jehovah’s fellow and equal
Zech 13:7 "Awake, O sword,
against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD
of hosts.
And I will turn My hand
against the little ones.
The New Testament says this
associate is Jehovah’s equal.
Phil 2:6-7 who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and
being made in the likeness of men.
Matt 22:42-46 "What do you
think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They said to Him, "The son of
David." He said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him
"Lord,' saying,
44'THE LORD SAID TO MY
LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET"'?
45 "If David then calls Him "Lord,' how is He his son?" 46 No one was able
to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him
another question.
Peter’s famous speech in Acts 2
is clear on who Jesus is.
Acts 2:22-36
22 "Men of Israel, listen to
these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with
miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know --
23 this Man, delivered
over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a
cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 "But God raised Him up
again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for
Him to be held in its power.
25 "For David says of Him,
'I SAW THE LORD ALWAYS IN
MY PRESENCE; FOR HE IS AT MY RIGHT HAND, SO THAT I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN.
26'THEREFORE MY HEART WAS GLAD AND MY TONGUE EXULTED; MOREOVER MY FLESH
ALSO WILL LIVE IN HOPE; 27 BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES,
NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO
DECAY. 28'YOU HAVE MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; YOU WILL MAKE ME
FULL OF GLADNESS WITH YOUR PRESENCE.'
29 "Brethren, I may
confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died
and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 "And so, because he was
a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF
HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE,
31 he looked ahead and spoke
of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES,
NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY.
32 "This Jesus God raised
up again, to which we are all witnesses.
33 "Therefore having been
exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the
promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see
and hear.
34 "For it was not David
who ascended into heaven, but he himself says:
'THE LORD SAID TO MY
LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, 35 UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL
FOR YOUR FEET."'
36 "Therefore let all the
house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and
Christ -- this Jesus whom you crucified."
This is a quote from David in
the Old Testament about the coming Messiah.
Ps 110:1
The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies
a footstool for Your feet."
In the OT, the Hebrew says
“Yahweh says to Adonai”.
Yahweh is the same as Jehovah,
just a different pronunciation.
Adonai means Lord and is often
used in reference to Jehovah.
The form Adhonai began to be
used by devout Jews in an effort to avoid taking the personal name of
Yahweh in vain. They didn’t want to pronounce the sacred tetragrammaton
YHWH, so they would say and later write Adhonai instead!
Adhonai, as a substitute for the
holy word Yahweh, is therefore also synonymous with the other substitute
for Yahweh, “Jehovah”.
Yes Adonai is used elsewhere in
the Old Testament in reference to men like Abraham who were lord or master
over their servants or wives, but it is also used to speak of deity, of
Jehovah Himself.
Jesus makes it clear in the
New Testament, Mat 22:45, that Psa 110:1 is speaking of Adonai as deity.
Mat 22:45 "If David then
calls Him "Lord,' how is He his son?"
And they could not answer him.
And as Jesus pointed out Himself in the
Gospels, David in the Spirit called his Son-to-be “Lord”, pointing to the
fact that the Christ to come would be God in the flesh.
Jesus Himself tells us in Mat
22:45 that Adonai in Psa 110:1 points to deity, the Lord also being called
His Son.
The Christ is the son of David,
and David calls Him Lord, Adonai, or Jehovah.
This is further proof of the
Trinity existing; where we have One God in essence, yet 3 personalities of
this same God.
7.
Jehovah of hosts
Isa 6:1-3 In the year of
King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted,
with the train of His robe filling the temple.
2 Seraphim stood above
Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he
covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called out to
another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The
whole earth is full of His glory."
The New Testament says Isaiah
the prophet saw Jehovah’s glory.
In John 12:41 These
things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
Whose glory did Isaiah see?
Jehovah’s glory. The glory of the Lord of hosts.
Yet Joh 12:41 speaks of our
Lord Jesus Christ!
Isaiah the prophet goes on…
14 "Then He shall become a
sanctuary; But to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a
rock to stumble over, And a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of
Jerusalem.
In the New Testament Peter tells
us the stumbling stone, the Lord of hosts, is Christ.
1 Peter 2:7-8 This
precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who
disbelieve, "THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY
CORNER stone," and, "A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE";
for they stumble because
they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also
appointed.
The Lord of hosts is the
stumbling stone, as is Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, and we see here they
are one in the same, “the stone which the builders rejected”.
This direct quote from Isaiah
about the Lord of hosts is applied by the apostle Peter to Jesus Christ,
because they are one in the same God.
Part 4
A common question is “who is the
Messiah that was promised from the Old Testament?” and “who is Jesus
Christ? If He is the Messiah, is He equal to God the Father?”
In this study we will see that
Jesus Christ and God the Father, as well as God the Holy Spirit, are ONE
in the same!
There are many New Testament
passages that teach Jesus is God Himself, but today we will examine the
Old Testament names for God our Creator, and we will see Jesus is given
the same names and titles, proving He is not just a man, but God Himself
who left heaven to suffer and die in our place for our sins.
8.
Jehovah the Shepherd
Isa 40:10-11
10 Behold, the Lord GOD
will come with might,
With His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him
And His recompense before Him.
11 Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs
And carry them in His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.
Here the Lord God (Adonai
Yahweh) is the shepherd who will tend His flock and gather His lambs.
Yet the New Testament says the
Great Shepherd is Jesus Christ our Lord.
Heb 13:20
Now the God of peace, who
brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through
the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
Here the great Shepherd was
raised from the dead, and is called Jesus our Lord.
And Isa 40:10 says the Lord
God, Adonai Yahweh, will come with might, and His reward is with Him,
and His recompense before Him.
So Jehovah is coming with a
reward.
Isa 62:11
Behold, the LORD has
proclaimed to the end of the earth, Say to the daughter of Zion, "Lo, your
salvation comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense
before Him."
Yet in Rev 22:12-21, Jesus is
the One with the reward.
We see Jesus is the One speaking
throughout this passage.
12 "Behold, I am coming
quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according
to what he has done.
13 "I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
16 "I, Jesus, have
sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the
root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
17 The Spirit and the
bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one
who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without
cost.
20 He who testifies to
these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The grace of the Lord
Jesus be with all. Amen.
Isa 49:4
But I said, "I have toiled
in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; Yet surely the
justice due to Me is with the LORD, And My reward with My God."
In our next passage, we see
the Lord God accomplishing mighty deeds with His arm, as Isa 40:10
says.
We also see that God is called
“the Mighty One”, a title the JWs say is given to Jesus as a lesser
deity.
They say that Jehovah is
called the Almighty One, but here Jehovah is also called the Mighty One.
They are one in the same, as
Jehovah and Jesus are one in the same.
Luke 1:46-51 – Mary calls
Jehovah the “Mighty One”.
46 And Mary said:
"My soul exalts the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 "For He has had regard
for the humble state of His bondslave; For behold, from this time on all
generations will count me blessed. 49 "For the Mighty One has done
great things for me; And holy is His name. 50 "AND HIS MERCY IS UPON
GENERATION AFTER GENERATION TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM. 51 "He has done
mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in
the thoughts of their heart.
And ironically, when the
predicted Messiah was called Mighty One, He was also called Eternal
Father!
Isa 9:6
For a child will be born
to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His
shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
John the Baptist’s father
Zacharias prophesied about his son John and the purpose for his son’s
ministry:
Luke 1:67-77
67 And his father
Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 "Blessed be the Lord
God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for
His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house
of David His servant -- 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets
from of old -- 71 Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES, And FROM THE
HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US; 72 To show mercy toward our fathers, And to
remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our
father, 74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our
enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness
before Him all our days. 76 "And you, child (speaking of John the
Baptist), will be called the prophet of the Most High; For
you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS; 77 To give to
His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins,
Notice, he says of his baby John
the Baptist that he is called prophet of the Most High (not prophet
of a lesser god, or of the man Jesus).
And John will go BEFORE THE
LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS.
He will not go before Jesus, the
man or the angel, but before the Lord Jesus!
-----------------------
Again, as Jehovah the
Shepherd, God said He would search for His own sheep.
Ezek 34:11
For thus says the Lord
GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
Yet Jesus said in John 10:11-16
11 "I am the good shepherd;
the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
12 "He who is a hired
hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf
coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and
scatters them.
13 "He flees because he is
a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep.
14 "I am the good
shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father
knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
16 "I have other sheep,
which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My
voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
And Jehovah said He would
judge between His sheep:
Ezek 34:17
"As for you, My flock,
thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will judge between one sheep and
another, between the rams and the male goats.
Ezek 34:22
therefore, I will deliver
My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge
between one sheep and another.
Yet Jesus is said to judge the
sheep in Matt 25:31-33
31 "But when the Son of
Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on
His glorious throne.
32 "All the nations will
be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;
33 and He will put the
sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Part 5
A common question is “who is the
Messiah that was promised from the Old Testament?” and “who is Jesus
Christ? If He is the Messiah, is He equal to God the Father?”
In this study we will see that
Jesus Christ and God the Father, as well as God the Holy Spirit, are ONE
in the same!
There are many New Testament
passages that teach Jesus is God Himself, but today we will examine the
Old Testament names for God our Creator, and we will see Jesus is given
the same names and titles, proving He is not just a man, but God Himself
who left heaven to suffer and die in our place for our sins.
9.
Jehovah, for whose glory all things were
created.
Prov 16:4
The LORD has made
everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.
Jehovah, the Almighty God,
made everything for its own purpose.
And in Col 1:16, Jesus
created all things for Himself.
Col 1:16
For by Him (Jesus
in context) all things were created, both in the heavens and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or
authorities -- all things have been created through Him and for Him.
10. Jehovah
as the eternal God and Creator.
In the Old Testament, Ps
102:24-27
24 I say, "O my God, do
not take me away in the midst of my days,Your years are throughout all
generations. 25 "Of old You founded the earth,And the heavens are the
work of Your hands. 26 "Even they will perish, but You endure;And all
of them will wear out like a garment;Like clothing You will change them
and they will be changed. 27 "But You are the same,And Your years will
not come to an end.
8 But of the Son He
says,
"YOUR THRONE, O GOD, IS
FOREVER AND EVER, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SCEPTER IS THE SCEPTER OF HIS
KINGDOM.
9 "YOU HAVE LOVED
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HATED LAWLESSNESS; THEREFORE GOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED
YOU WITH THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."
10 And, [still
speaking of the Son]
"YOU, LORD, IN THE
BEGINNING LAID THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH, AND THE HEAVENS ARE THE WORKS
OF YOUR HANDS; 11 THEY WILL PERISH, BUT YOU REMAIN; AND THEY ALL WILL
BECOME OLD LIKE A GARMENT, 12 AND LIKE A MANTLE YOU WILL ROLL THEM UP;
LIKE A GARMENT THEY WILL ALSO BE CHANGED. BUT YOU ARE THE
SAME, AND YOUR YEARS WILL NOT COME TO AN END."
A direct quote from Psa 102,
said to be of the Son.
---------------------------------------------
The JWs say that Jesus is
Michael the archangel and that he was God’s assistant in creation.
In Gen 1:26, it says “Let
Us create man in Our image”.
This cannot be Elohim and
Michael the archangel speaking, because the Bible says in the next verse
that man and woman were made in the image of Elohim.
We are either made in the image
of God or in the image of an angel. It can’t be both!
Here Elohim is a plural word
for God Almighty. The JW’s say it means gods, and that we are all
gods, so Michael the archangel is included in this creation. But isn’t
there only one true God?
Only Almighty God, Jehovah,
has the power and ability to create. And if Elohim in the plural goes
beyond Almighty Jehovah, then we are saying there is more than one God.
Elohim in the Hebrew is used to
represent the plurality of Jehovah.
He is one God, but represents
Himself in 3 Persons; a reference to the Trinity.
Jesus is Jehovah in the flesh.
The Lord God has come and saved His people.
“Believe in the Lord Jesus and
you will be saved”. Acts 16:31
11. Jehovah
as the only Savior.
In Philippians 2:10-11, it also
teaches “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
It is interesting to note that
this passage is quoted by Paul from the Old Testament Scriptures in Isaiah
45:23.
If you read the entire context
in Isaiah you will find that bowing the knee and confessing this oath was
to be done to God, Jehovah, the Savior of the world.
Isa 45:21-23, Isaiah speaks of
Jehovah;
21 " Declare and set forth
your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who has announced this from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the LORD?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.
22 " Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
23 " I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
For Paul to use this passage
in Philippians as a reference to Jesus would be blaspheming if Jesus were
not Jehovah.
Is this what you believe and
confess to others? Do you believe that He is the Christ, the Savior of the
world, that He is Lord, and that He is the very God of heaven come in
human flesh?
12. Jehovah
is the One who would be pierced!
In Zech 12:10, Jehovah is
speaking when He says He will pour out His Spirit on the house of David,
the Jews.
"I will pour out on the house
of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of
supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and
they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep
bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
13. Only
Jehovah is the great “I AM”.
Jesus also made a very specific
claim to be God.
In John 8:24 He said, “If
you do not believe that I AM he, you will die in your sins.”
The word he is in italics
in most Bibles, denoting that it is not in the original text.
Therefore, Jesus was declaring
that it was essential to believe that He was the great I AM or you would
die in your sins.
In Exodus 3:13-15, when Moses is
confronted by God in the burning bush, he asked God, “What is your
name?” God declared, “I AM WHO I AM… This is My name forever… to all
generations.”
In addition, Jesus claimed to be
the great I AM several times.
When He did, the Pharisees
understood exactly what He was claiming.
In several instances they took
up stones to stone Him to death because they understood that He was
claiming to be God. See John 8:57-59; John 5:17-18; John 10:29-33.
Do you believe that Jesus is
God?
And of course, Jesus is also
called God and Savior later in the NT. (Tit 2:13, 3:4-6)
Titus 2:11-13
11 For the grace of God
has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us to deny
ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and
godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and the
appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
4 But when the kindness
of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us,
not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but
according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the
Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ
our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The Scriptures are apparent. In
comparing scripture with scripture we can see that Jesus is assigned the
same titles as Jehovah, and that God Himself promised to come save His
people.
And it has happened.
It is my prayer that people will
open their minds and see the direct teachings of the scriptures regarding
the deity of Christ, “Immanuel”, God with us.
Acts 16:31
“Believe in the LORD
Jesus and you will be saved.”
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