JESUS CHRIST IS YAHWEH Andrew Ansell Did you know, that the most written about Person in all of History, is the Lord Jesus Christ? There is no one ever who has had more written about them, either for, or against, than the Lord Jesus Christ. What is also amazing, is that Jesus’ public ministry, as recorded in the four Gospel in the Holy Bible, only lasted some three and a half years! In the Book of Acts in the New Testament, we read of Jesus through His followers, turning the world upside down (17:6). After Jesus Christ came into the world through His birth from the Virgin Mary, the world has never been the same again. At the end of the Gospel of the Apostle John, we read these remarkable words: “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen” (21:25). Who, then, is this Person, the Lord Jesus Christ? Indeed, Jesus asks this question of Himself: “who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is, without a doubt, the most important question ever to have been asked by anyone. The answer to which, ever human beings eternal destiny depends. One day, you too will have to answer this very question. Do you really know Who Jesus Christ is? The best place to get the correct answer to this question, is the Holy Bible, which is the Word of Almighty God to us, and therefore is completely trustworthy in all that it teaches. In the original autographs, the Holy Bible, alone is Infallible, and Inerrant in all of its contents. If you have problems in believing or accepting this, then ask the Lord to help you, as it is fundamental to what we believe, that we have a complete assurance of what the Holy Bible is. In our present time, an increasing number of people, both scholars, and lay people, have a defective view of Who Jesus Christ is, as taught in the Holy Bible. The most common response is, that Jesus was a Good Man, who went about doing good to others, and nothing more. While this is true, yet the Bible teaches that there is much more to Who Jesus Christ really is. Is He, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, a created being, who is the highest of God’s creation. Or, as is taught by Evangelical, Orthodox, Christians, that Jesus Christ is Almighty God? Let us turn to the Holy Bible, where we will be looking at the use of “Lord” (Greek, kurios), when applied to Jesus. In the first place, we ought to look at the meaning of the Hebrew Name, Yahweh, which is used a few thousand times in the Old Testament for the Creator, Almighty God. In the Hebrew and English Lexicon, by F Brown, S R Driver and C A Briggs, we read of "Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel...the one bringing into being, life-giver, giver of existence, creator, he who brings to pass...he who causes...the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, everliving" (pages 217-218). It is evident from these descriptions for the Name Yahweh, that it is quite impossible to use this Name for someone who is in any sense, less than Almighty God Himself. It most certainly cannot be used for a

created being, as the Name Itself speaks of One Who is Eternal, Self-Existent, Ever-Living, and the One Who is Himself, alone, the Life-Giver, and Creator of the entire universe. Now, if there is even a single instance in the New Testament, where the Divine Name, YHWH (from which we get, Yahweh), is used for Jesus Christ. Then this, beyond any doubt must conclusively show, that Jesus Christ, is as much Almighty God, as the Father is. It also must be stressed here, that by using this Name, Yahweh, for Jesus, will show that He is coeternal, coequal and coessential with God the Father. And, further, that as Almighty God, Jesus cannot in any way, be subordinate to God the Father, as even some Evangelicals mistakenly teach. Dr H P Liddon, in his book, The Divinity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, has this to say about the relationship between the Father and Jesus: "The Subordination of the Everlasting Son to the Everlasting Father is strictly compatible with the Son's absolute Divinity; it is abundantly implied in our Lord's language; and it is an integral element of the ancient doctrine which steadily represents the Father as Alone Unoriginate, the Font of Deity in the Eternal Live of the Ever-blessed Trinity" (pages, 199-200). This is the grave error which the Church from very early times, used to express, that the Father is primary in the Godhead, while the Son and Holy Spirit, are secondary. Even those of the Orthodox party who fought against the heresies of Arainism, like Athanasius, Hilary, the Cappadocian fathers, fell into the error of teaching the heresies promoted by Origen, on the Persons of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. "The reconciliation in Origen's mind of the eternal generation of the Logos and the inferiorism in the Trinity is to be found in the fact that for him all spiritual beings are eternal. Thus the eternity of the Son and the Spirit can coexist with an inferiorism of both as compared with the Father, who alone is truly God." (R S Franks; The Doctrine of the Trinity, p.94). Origen also used the term "unbegotten" which is only for the Father (ibid). Even in the famous "Nicene Creed", we have a clear subordination of Jesus Christ to the Father. When we read, "God from God", we assume that this means that Jesus is as much "God" as the Father is. And so it probably is in the English language. However, the Creed was written in Greek, which tells a quite different story. The Greek is, "theon ek theou", which is literally, "God out of God", which is clearly subordinate, as it teaches that Jesus derives His eternal being from the Father. This is further seen from the other clause in this Creed, "begotten from the Father", which again in the Greek, the preposition "from", really is, "out of" (ek), which is used to show source. It is worthwhile to mention here, that the Nicene Creed is actually based on the Creed which was drawn up by the Church historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, who was an Arian at heart, though he pretended to put himself forth as one of the Orthodox. Remarking on the other clause in this creed, where again the preposition, "ek" is used, "true God from true God", Eusebius says of the Father, "that He alone is true God, and the addition of the word 'true' is most necessary. The Word of God, he admitted, was 'God', but not 'true God'" (J N D Kelly; Early Christian Creeds, p.237).

The Bible no where teaches that the Father is alone "Unoriginate", or, "the Font of Deity"; and that the Son and Holy Spirit have their life communicated to them from the Father. This is speculative theology. This is man trying to work out in his finite mind, the unfathomable Holy Trinity. What we do very clearly see in the Word of God, is that there is One God. Thus, we read in Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD". Yet, there are many passages in Scripture, where more than One Person is designated as "God" (for Christ we have passages like, John 1:1; 20:28; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:16 [original reading]; Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1. And for the Holy Spirit, Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 6:19, with 3:16; Hebrews 3:7-11, with Psalm 95:7-11; 10:15-17, with Jeremiah 31:3334, etc). In the Book of Genesis, we read in 19:24, where Two Persons are called, "Yahweh", One was on the earth with Abraham, and the Other was in heaven! In all of these examples, the use of "God" for Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is meant in the highest sense, as in Almighty God, as it would be used for the Father. There is no Biblical warrant to take the use of "God" in a lower sense, when it is used for either Jesus or the Holy Spirit. This is done by some purely on theological grounds. This fact can be seen in the Greek grammar by Dr George Winer, where, commenting on the grammar of Titus 2:13, admits that grammatically it can indeed refer to Jesus Christ, where He is called, "the Great God and Saviour"; but he objects to this theologically, as he assumes that Paul could not have used such language for Jesus. (A Treatise on the Grammar of New Testament Greek, page 162. This understanding of Dr Winer, was based on his theological bias, being a Unitarian, and one who totally rejected the Biblical teaching on the Holy Trinity, and the full Deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Likewise, we have the Evangelical scholar, Dr James Denney, who, unlike Dr Winer did believe in the Holy Trinity, and the Deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit; yet he says that he could not, for example, in John 1:1, say that "the Word was God", but rather "the Word was god" ."(Letters of Principal James Denney to W. Robertson Nicoll, pp.124-125). Here, like Dr Winer, Dr Denny's theology does not allow him, for whatever reasons, to call Jesus "God" here in John 1:1; whereas both the Greek grammar of the passage, and the teaching on Jesus in John's Gospel, clearly shows that it can only read, "the Word was God". No other rendering of the Greek in the context, is possible. The definition of "Yahweh" is seen from the Name of God that He gave Moses in Exodus 3:13f. When Moses asks God, "when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?" . To which God replies, "I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is My Name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations". The Hebrew for "I am that I am", is, "'ehyeh aser 'ehyeh". The best way to understand this in English, is, by taking the words to mean, "I am He Who exists" (see, Colin Brown,

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. II, p.68). This is basically what we see as given by Brown, Driver and Briggs in their Hebrew lexicon, "the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, ever-living". The Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint (which goes by LXX), which was produced some 150 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, renders the Hebrew: "ego eimi ho on" (rather than, "ego eimi ho ego eimi), which is literally, "'I am the existing One'. LXX"(C. Brown, ibid, p.278). The use of the present participle, "on", in the Septuagint, is used to show the "timeless present", for the God Who always IS. As God tells Moses here, that "this (Yahweh) is My Name forever", He says the same thing in Isaiah, "I am Yahweh, This is My Name" (42:8). And, "I, even I, am Yahweh; and beside Me there is no Saviour". Again, "I am Yahweh, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me" (45:5. see also verses, 6-8). It is clear that "Yahweh" is the Name for the Eternal God of the Holy Bible. The passages in Isaiah (and elsewhere), show that this Name cannot be given to anyone Who is not the absolute equal to Almighty God. It must be noted here, that when God is speaking in Isaiah 45:5, He says that He is Yahweh, and that there is no other. As He does in verse six, "I am Yahweh, and there is no other". How, then, do we deal with the fact, as we shall see, where passages from the Old Testament, which speak of Yahweh, are quoted in the New Testament, and applied to Jesus Christ? We have already seen in Genesis 19:24, for example, where clearly there are Two Persons Who are equally called Yahweh. We can only conclude from this, that as Almighty God, the God of the Holy Bible, there is but One God, Who cannot be compared to any other deity from other religions, which would clearly be false, as they do not even exist in reality, but the work of the devil, who has deceived millions to believe that there is any other God, than that of the Bible. We have very early in the Book of Genesis, One Who is called, "Malakh Yahweh", which is usually rendered in most English versions, as, "The Angel (or, Messenger) of the Lord". This Person, Who first appears to Hagar in chapter 16:7. It is evident from the conversation which followed between Malakh Yahweh, and Hagar, that this Person was none other than Yahweh Himself. Note from what He says in verse ten, "and Malakh Yahweh said to her, I will exceedingly multiply your seed"(my emphasis). Then, in the following verse, He goes on to say, "because Jehovah has attended your affliction". Here He speaks of Jehovah in the third person, as One being distinct from Himself. Hence we have the Title, Malakh Yahweh, "The Messenger of the Lord", Who must be distinct from the Lord, from Whom He has come. Hagar knew full well Who it was speaking with her. For we read in verse thirteen, "and she called the Name of Yahweh, the One speaking to her". The identity of Malakh Yahweh, showing beyond any doubt that He was the Theophany of the pre-incarnate, Jesus Christ, will be dealt with in another study with greater depth. But it will suffice to say here, that, this Person, Who bore the Title, Malakh Yahweh, in many instances, could not refer to any created being. We read in the Book of Judges, that, "Then the Angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said: “I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I

swore to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. And you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed My voice. Why have you done this? Therefore I also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; but they shall be thorns in your side, and their gods shall be a snare to you.’ So it was, when the Angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voices and wept. (2:1-4). Yet, we read in Exodus 20, "And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God (Elohim), who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.(1-2, See also Deuternonmy 32:12; "So the LORD (Yahweh) alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him"). “Thus says the LORD God (Yahweh Elohim) of Israel: ‘I brought you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of bondage; and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. Also I said to you, “I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God (Elohim); do not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.” But you have not obeyed My voice.’” (Judges 6:8-10). Note the words that I have highlighted here, and those in chapter two. Malakh Yahweh, speaks in Judges chapter two in the first person, not as One representing another. Again, in Judges chapter six, we have the account where Malakh Yahweh, appears to Gideon (verse eleven onwards). After Gideon realised Who it was he was speaking with, Malakh Yahweh, he says, "Alas, O Lord GOD! For I have seen the Angel of the LORD face to face." (v.22). But, how can this be a problem, if Malakh Yahweh, were a created being? We do read these words in Exodus 33:20, where the Lord God Almighty says to Moses: "But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live". No where in the entire Holy Bible, do we ever read that one would die if they saw an angel face to face; as many did have encounters with created angels. The words spoken by Yahweh to Gideon in Judges 6:23, is beyond any doubt, that Malakh Yahweh, Who talked with Gideon, was no created being. For here we read, "Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you; do not fear, you shall not die". Why, even the need for these words of assurance from Yahweh Himself, if Malakh Yahweh, were a created being? (see, also Judges 13: 21-23 in context). With this important background information on the Name Yahweh, we shall take a look at the passage in John's Gospel, where Jesus applies the words of Exodus 3:14-15, to Himself. In chapter eight, in speaking to the Jews, Jesus, in response to their remark, "Are you greater than our father Abraham?" (v.53). The construction of the Greek here is interesting. "You are", in the Greek is, "me su", where the use of the particle, "me", shows that they expected a negative answer. Where the force of the question really has the meaning: "surely, you do not consider yourself to be greater than our father Abraham?" The answer to which can be found in verse 58, where Jesus makes this very strong statement, "Truly (literally, "of a Truth") I say to you, before Abraham was, I am". Of which Dr A T Robertson says: "Before Abraham was (prin Abraam genesthai). Usual idiom with prin in positive sentence

with infinitive (second aorist middle of ginomai) and the accusative of general reference, “before coming as to Abraham,” “before Abraham came into existence or was born.” I am (egō eimi). Undoubtedly here Jesus claims eternal existence with the absolute phrase used of God. The contrast between genesthai (entrance into existence of Abraham) and eimi (timeless being) is complete." (Word Pictures in the New Testament, Vol. V, e-edition). And, Dr Marvin Vincent, "Was, I am (genesthai, egō eimi ) It is important to observe the distinction between the two verbs. Abraham’s life was under the conditions of time, and therefore had a temporal beginning. Hence, Abraham came into being, or was born (genesthai). Jesus’ life was from and to eternity. Hence the formula for absolute, timeless existence, I am (egō eimi)." (Word Studies, Vol. II e-edition). There can be no doubt, that Jesus here uses for Himself, the Eternal Title of Almighty God, "ego eimi", as we have seen from the passage in Exodus, which is the basis for the Name, "Yahweh". This is further seen from the fact that the Jews again wanted to kill Jesus, because, like in chapter 5:18, and 10:33, they rightly understood Jesus to be making a direct claim to be Almighty God, which, to them was blasphemy. Note, the exchange between Jesus and the Jews, right upto verse 58, did not enrage them to want to kill Jesus. However, after Jesus uttered the words, "Truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am", which they clearly understood as the Name of God being used by Jesus, for Himself, that they wanted to stone Him. As Dr G E Ladd puts is, "The pre-existence of Jesus is reflected elsewhere in Jesus' own reported teaching. 'Before Abraham was, I am' (8:58). This amazing affirmation is an allusion to the Old Testament usage. God revealed himself to Moses as 'I am who I am' (Exod. 3:14). 'See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God besides me' (Deut. 32:39)...'Before Abraham was born (genesthai), I am (egō eimi). 'This is the only passage in the New Testament where we have the contrast between einai and genesthai' [E Stauffer, TDNT II, 399] The Jews picked up stones to throw at him because of this seemingly blasphemous statement, but he escaped them. In John's Gospel, the hostility and opposition of the Jews was incurred because the implicit claims of Jesus' language made him equal to God (5:18) - indeed, of claiming to be God (10:30). Jesus in no way refuted these charges...it seems beyond question that in the use of the absolute egō eimi, Jesus is in some real sense identifying himself with the God of the Old Testament" (A Theology of the New Testament, pp. 241, 250-51). There can be no doubt, that Jesus uses language especially in the Gospel of John, to identify Himself with the Yahweh of the Old Testament, something that only could have done, if He were Almighty God, Who is coeternal, coequal and coessential with God the Father. Nothing less is possible from Jesus' own words. John the Baptist was the fore-runner to Jesus Christ, who prepared the way for Jesus' ministry, thus fulfilling the words of the Prophets Isaiah (40:3-5); and Malachi (3:1; 4:5-6). When the angel announced the birth of John the Baptist to his father, Zacharias, the angel says of John: "for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the

Holy Spirit, even from his mothers womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:15-17). The part of this passage that we are interested in, is the use of the personal pronoun, "autou" (he shall go before Him). To whom does this "Him" refer? Dr G B Winer, in his Greek grammar, for theological reasons, as we have seen above, says: "autos has no reference grammatically indicated in the previous context, but must be understood of a subject which is supposed to be familiar: L. i. 17, autos proeleusetai autou, i.e. before the Messiah" (A Treatise on the Grammar of New Testament Greek, pp.182,183). As I have already said, Dr Winer was a Unitarian, and therefore could not, because of his theological bias, admit that the pronoun, "autou", here grammatically, as well as contextually, must be understood as referring to "the Lord their God". It should be noted here, that Dr Winer's remarks that grammatically, autos, has no reference to what was said previous, but, to "a subject which is supposed to be familiar", is incorrect. If we were to read the first sixteen verses to this Gospel, we will see that there is no reference, or even hint of the "Messiah". So, how can this be said to be something that was "familiar", if it was unknown? Again, it is obvious that theology, rather than honesty, was what led Dr Winer to his conclusion, as he has done elsewhere. It is evident from the passage, that Luke, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, intended to show that John would be the fore-runner of Yahweh, as foretold by the Prophets Isaiah and Malachi. In verse 76 of this same chapter of Luke's Gospel, we read of John's father, Zacharis' words, where he says: "and you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways". These words are no doubt taken from the prophesy found in Malachi, which reads: "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me" (3:1). Where the speaker is none other than "Yahweh". The use of "Lord" in Luke 1:76, can only be understood to mean, "Yahweh". Both verses 16, 17 and 76 must refer to the same Person, Who is Yahweh, as seen also from the Old Testament prophecies. We now move on to the testimony of John the Baptist about himself, when asked who he was, he appeals to the Old Testament. "He said, 'I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: make straight the way of the Lord, as Isaiah the Prophet said" (John 1:23). And, in Luke's account, it is more detailed: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:‘ Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God" (3:4-6). Again, it is evident from this quotation from Isaiah 40:3, which John the Baptist applies to himself, that John was the messenger to prepare the way for "Yahweh", that it, Almighty God, which Scripture shows is Jesus Christ. Here we have solid Biblical testimony to the full Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that the writers of the Gospels could without any hesitation take the words from the Old Testament, which are spoken of Almighty God

(Yahweh), and use them for the First Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ, is, without any doubt, to the honest mind, evidence that cannot be disputed, that it is an impossibility from the plain teachings of the Holy Bible, to say that Jesus Christ is in any way inferior to God the Father, and further shows, that there is more than One Person in Scripture Who is known as Almighty God. It is my conviction, that at an very early stage in the copying of the manuscripts, that a deliberate change was made to the quotation from the Prophet Isaiah, when used in the Synoptic Gospels. In the last sentence of their quotation, the first three Gospels have it: "make His paths straight (in the Greek: "eutheias pioeite tas tribous autou"). However, the actual words of Isaiah for this part of the text are: "make straight in the desert a highway for our God", which is what the Hebrew text reads. Even the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was done about 150 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, reads here: "make straight the paths of our God". How, then, could the writers of the Gospels have quoted this verse from Isaiah 40, and give us a reading that is not found in the original Hebrew, or the Greek Old Testament? The words "His paths", are a very early corruption. The early Christian Bishop, Irenaeus, who lived between A.D. 130-200, says that in his copy of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, it read, "Matthew again says, and Luke likewise, For this is he that was spoken of from the Lord by the prophet. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God" (Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 9). Here we can clearly see that the words, "make straight the paths of our God", were read in both Matthew and Luke's Gospel, from a very early time, as the Greek text of Irenaeus would have been from the end of the first century. This reading was also known to the heretic, Origen (A.D.185-254), who would have read the Greek New Testament; and the Biblical scholar, Jerome (A.D.342-420), who was responsible for the Latin Vulgate translation, who had access to many Greek and Old Latin Manuscripts; which would have had the reading: "make straight the paths of our God". This reading was also found in the Old Latin Version, which dates from the early second century. Also in a number of "Syriac" Versions, like: The Peshitto (4th); The Sinaitic (4th); The Curetonian (5th); and The Harkleian (7th). We also have the testimony of the Gothic version, that was made by Ulphilas, (A.D.311-383), who was himself someone who denied the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; and that of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Trinity! Not only is Jesus clearly here in the Gospels called, "Yahweh" (YHWH). But, also the Name "Elohim", used for Almighty God, as the reference in Isaiah 40:3 could only mean; is equally clearly used for the Lord Jesus Christ! Only those who are not concerned with the Truth as taught in Scripture, but who insist on their warped, demonic theories, will continue to argue against the full Deity of Jesus, even after they are presented with the evidence that we have seen! We then have the testimony of Jesus to John the Baptist, and to Himself. "This is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who

will prepare Your way before You.’" (Luke 7:27). Here Jesus is referring to the Prophet Malachi, where we read the words: "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me" (3:1). The speaker here is Yahweh, Who says that His messenger, fulfilled in John the Baptist, would prepare the way before Him. The way Jesus uses this verse from Malachi, as seen in the Greek, is very important. Instead of a verbatim quote from Malachi, Jesus changes the personal pronoun, "mou" (Me), which is in the first person; and uses the personal pronoun, "sou" (you), which is in the second person. By doing this, Jesus says that the Coming of Yahweh as we read in Malachi 3, is actually His own Coming. Jesus has in effect taken the words spoken by Yahweh in Malachi, and said that they speak of Himself. Thereby saying that He is Yahweh! The Speaker's Commentary has this to say of the words of Jesus, "in applying the prophesy to Himself as Messiah, asserts His own Deity, as one with the Lord of hosts who speaks through the prophet" (The Speaker's Commentary, N.T., vol, I, page 55). This is the only way in which we can understand the change of the personal pronoun, from the first, to second person. This is conclusive from the Greek grammar. Our text passage, where we shall see the Name Yahweh used for Jesus. In Matthew 22, Jesus says to the Pharisees: "what do you think about Christ? Whose Son is He? (v.42). Their reply was, "the son of David". To which Jesus replies: "How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?" (vv.43-45). Jesus is here not denying that He is the Son of David, which clearly He is, "according to His humanity" (see, Romans 1:3; Matthew 1:1; Luke 3:31; John 7:42, etc). But, what Jesus is doing here, is to show the Pharisees, and anyone who would listen to the Scriptures, that He is more than simply "the Son of David". Jesus If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?" Jesus here quotes from Psalm 110:1, and says that David calls Him, "Lord". This Psalm reads: "The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand". In the Hebrew it reads: "Yahweh says to Adoni". Dr Adam Clarke, in his Commentary of this Psalm, informs us, that, "instead of ladoni 'my Lord', one Ms. seems to have read, layhovah, "Jehovah said unto Jehovah, ‘Sit thou on my right hand,’" etc. See De Rossi." (e-edition). Here we have one Hebrew manuscript of this Psalm that reads "Yahweh", in both places in verse one. To this reading Jesus would have been referring, whereby He is called "Yahweh", thus showing that He is more than the Son of David. This would be the thrust of His argument in the Gospels. The reading of this manuscript, I believe to be the original, which was changed to "Adoni" by those who deny the Deity of Jesus Christ, to Whom the words refer. Before I get criticised for theological bias, in accepting the reading of just a single Hebrew manuscript, because it teaches that Jesus is Yahweh. I ask the reader to bear with me, and see the facts as they are, which I shall now present, and then see if my conclusions are factual, or fantasy. The textual evidence for the correct reading of verse one, can be established from the correct reading of verse five. In this verse we read: "the Lord at thy right

hand...", where the Hebrew for "Lord", like in its second use in verse one, is "Adoni". Dr Rudolph Kittel, in his, Biblia Hebraica, says on the Hebrew of this verse, "Pl MSS, Yahweh" (page 1074). Dr W Oesterley, in his commentary on The Psalms . On verse five he says: "'the Lord at thy right hand...' ; read with many MSS, Yahweh, for Adoni, my Lord. . The present Hebrew text is largely corrupt" (vol.II, page 462.1939). To which we can add the words of Dr Clarke, "Yehovah is the reading of a great number of the MSS. in the above collections.". The fact that Jesus Christ has the position at the "right-hand" of Yahweh, can be seen from a number of Scripture references, as it clearly is the case in verse one of this Psalm (see also, Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; 16:19; Acts 5:31; 7:55; Romans 8:34; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 12:2). It is evident from the textual evidence, that the original reading in verse five, is "Yahweh", and not, "Adoni", which makes Jesus "Yahweh" at the right-hand of "Yahweh", as it does in verse one. Because we know that this verse has been corrupted, we cannot dismiss the probability that the same can be said for the first verse. We are also told, that, "The original Hebrew text was not vocalized; in time the 'tetragrammation' YHWH was considered too sacred to pronounce; so 'adonay ('my Lord') was substituted in reading, and the vowels of this word were combined with the consonants YHWH to give 'Jehovah', a form first attested at the start of the 12th century AD." (Dr A B Davidson; The Theology of the Old Testament, pp.45-46). And, "The Jews, from an over scrupulous superstition and reverence for the Name of God, whenever in the sacred text Yahweh occurs, read it Adoni, which in the writers of a later age is pretty frequently in the text" (Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament; translated by Dr S Tregelles, p.12). This tells us that the Jews did indeed substitute the Name "Yahweh" in many places with "Adoni", as they considered the former too sacred to pronounce. There can be little doubt that this was done in this Psalm, which is further proven by the fact that there is a Hebrew manuscript that does have "Yahweh" twice in verse one, and many Hebrew manuscripts that read "Yahweh" in verse five. Here we have very clear evidence from the Old Testament, that Jesus Christ is Almighty God, as He also, like the Father, has the Divine Name, Yahweh used for Him. Clearly this verse would be a problem for those who deny the true Deity of Jesus, as does John 1:1, etc, for the Jehovah's Witnesses, who have corrupted the verse to read, "and the Word was a god". Likewise the Liberal, The Interpreter's Bible, has this to say about Psalm 110:5. "Your right hand should probably be emended to 'his right hand'" (volume IV, p.591). By which they mean, that God the Father is at the "right-hand" of Jesus! Why not simply accept what the Bible teaches about Jesus Christ, rather than trying to falsify what it says?. It is important to note, that the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin text for this verse all read: "the Lord at your right-hand". We now have a better understanding about what Jesus was saying to the Pharisees, about Who is really is: YAHWEH. Our next passage is from John's Gospel (12:37-43), especially verse 41, which reads: "These things said Isaiah, when he saw His Glory, and spoke of Him". John here refers to the account found in Isaiah chapter six, where we read of Isaiah's

vision of the Glory of Yahweh. In the Gospel, John says that, even though Jesus had done "many miracles in their presence, yet they did not believe in Him" (v.37). This, John says, happened to fulfil the words of the Prophet Isaiah, as recorded in 53:1, of that Book. John then continues by saying, that, "they could not believe" (v.39), again, because of what Isaiah says in chapter six (vv.9-10), which John quotes in verse 40. John then informs us that Isaiah says these things, "when he saw His (Jesus') Glory, and speaks of Him (Jesus)". That Jesus is the subject in mind, is evident from this whole passage in John's Gospel. For, we read of the many miracles that Jesus had done, and yet they did not believe in Him. This reaction to the preaching of Jesus, has its fulfilment in the words of Isaiah as found in chapter 53:1. John then further says in verse 39, that "they could not believe", where the subject can only be Jesus, Whom he has just mentioned in verse 37. And then John quotes from the vision of Isaiah chapter six, of the Glory of Yahweh, and says that Isaiah here sees the Glory of Jesus (His Glory and spoke of Him, 12:41). In verse 42 we are now told that after John said these words, that, "many believed in Him (Jesus)" (v.42). So, here we have the vision that Isaiah saw of "Yahweh of Hosts" (6:3,5), being that of the Lord Jesus Christ, as recorded in John's Gospel. Another very clear passage which teaches that Jesus is Almighty God. The next passage that we shall turn to, is found in Paul's Epistle to the Church at Rome, and chapter ten. Here he speaks of the person who is a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, which is only possible if they have a complete assurance in Who Jesus Christ is, and in what He has accomplished for them. We shall take up what Paul says from verse eight: "But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach: because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (verses 8-13). Here we have two components for a true believer. The person not only "confesses" (Greek, "homologeo": to agree with, declare, admit, to something through an inward conviction), that Jesus Christ, and Him alone, is the One and True "Lord" (where the Greek "kurios", used here in to be understood in the sense of, "Yahweh", and not, "adoni", which we shall see in a moment). But, also to "believe in their heart that God raised Him from among the dead". "Believe", here is the Greek "pisteuo", which means: "to be fully persuaded of, have a full confidence and trust", in that God actually did raise Jesus Christ from among the dead. For, as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, when he is dealing with the teaching of the Resurrection, that: "if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain." (ver.13-14). In other words, the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, is central to the Christian Faith, and marks it out from all other relegions, faiths, etc. If Jesus were not raised from the dead, then

He is still dead. And if He is still dead, then He cannot be the Saviour of mankind! But, we fully know from many passages in Scripture, that the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, as the Old Testament had said that He would, and that He ascended into heaven, where He is our Advocate. We can truly rejoice that we indeed have a Living Saviour! In verse thirteen as shown above, the words: "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved", are actually a quotation from the Prophet Joel in the Old Testament. Where we read: "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be delivered".(v.32). I said earlier that Paul's use of "kurios" (Lord) in the above passage from Romans, is used as equivalent to the Hebrew, "Yahweh", and not, "adoni". The use of "kurios" in verse thirteen of Romans nine, which we are here looking at, is conclusive in showing that this is the case. The quotation from the Prophet Joel, which Paul applies to the Lord Jesus Christ, has in the Hebrew, "Yahweh", for our English, "Lord". It is only, if Paul, writing under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, was fully convinced that Jesus Christ was Himself "Yahweh", that he would have used these words from Joel and use them directly for the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no getting away from the very clear teaching here, in Romans chapter nine, that Jesus Christ is also called: "Yahweh"! In which case, as we have seen already above, He cannot be in any way "less" God, that God the Father. This becomes evident from the entire testimony of the teaching of Scripture. Next, in Philippians chapter two, we read the words of the Apostle Paul: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”. Paul is here quoting from Isaiah 45:23, where the Hebrew reads: "unto Me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear". And the Greek Old Testament has it, "unto Me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God". Who, then is the Speaker in the passage in Isaiah? From verse 18, to 23, we read: "for this says Yahweh, Who created the heavens...I am Yahweh, and there is none else...I, Yahweh, speak righteousness...I, Yahweh, and there is no God else besides me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides me...for I am God, and there is none else. By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear" It is evident that the Speaker is none other than Almighty God, The Creator of the entire universe, The Saviour of mankind! It is also evident from the passage in Isaiah, where "Yahweh", says that there is no other besides Him, and that to Him, and Him only, was every knee to bow. Yet, the Apostle Paul, who writes under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, uses this very text and its context, for the Lord Jesus Christ. Something that would have been sheer blasphemy, if Jesus was a created being, and anything less than Almighty God Himself!

To get a better understanding what is meant by the words used by "Yahweh", in Isaiah, where He says that there is no God besides Him; and that He was the Saviour, and that there was none besides Him. We turn back to chapter 43 of the Prophet Isaiah, where we read the words: "Understand that I am He. Before Me there was no god created, nor shall there be after Me" (verse 10). Here the Speaker is also Almighty God, where He says that not at any time from eternity past, "before Me", nor at any other time, has there been someone who was created "god". If Jesus Christ is not Himself "Almighty God", and coeternal, coessential and coequal, with God the Father, then the only option that is available to us, is that He is a created being. But, it is not all. As, the Lord Jesus Christ is called in more than one place, "Yahweh", and also "Elohim" is used for Him, and in no less a sense than the Father, which can only make Jesus equal with the Father in every way. We know that the Hebrew word for "God", "Elohim", is in the masculine, plural. There are those, especially who reject the Bible's teaching of the Holy Trinity, who say that the plural number is no more than the royal "we". Where a king or queen, even when referring to only themselves, often use the plural "we". That this is the case is not disputed. However, to say that this same principle can to applied to the use of the masculine "Elohim", is completely without any justification. I shall give but one example from Scripture, which will prove beyond any doubt that this is incorrect. In the Book of Genesis we are told that God created man in His image. (1:26-27). Before He created man, God said: "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness" (v.26). Here we have the plural pronouns, "us" and "our", used by God. Who was He here speaking to? Some have suggested that God was here speaking to His angels, or some other heavenly creature. But, this is impossible for the simple reason, that nowhere in the entire Holy Bible, is man said to have been created in the "image" or "likeness" of any angel or heavenly being! In fact, in verse 27 of Genesis chapter one, we are very clearly told: "So God created man in His image". What we have here, is God the Father, speaking to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, both of Whom are Almighty God, like Himself, which us plural pronouns "us" and "our" refer to; and then the singular "Him" which is used in verse 27, is for the entire "Godhead" of the Three Persons. As we have seen, because Jesus is also Almighty God, like the Father and Holy Spirit are, Who are the Three Persons in the Holy Trinity; that Yahweh can say in Isaiah, that there is no one else besides Him, "Elohim", (where the Father is the speaker) which would include also the other Two Persons. Closely connected with the passage in Philippians, is another passage from Paul's Epistle to the Church at Rome. To give a better understanding, I shall start my quotation from verse 8 of chapter 14: "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of

himself to God." (8-12). The reason to see the wider context, is so that we can see that the central Person Whom Paul is talking about, is the Lord Jesus Christ. The words shown in bold type, are the quotation from Isaiah, which is from the Greek Version of the Old Testament (unto Me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess to God). Paul says that, "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ". And then says, in doing this, we shall be giving an "account...to God". Having just quoted again from Isaiah 45:23, in connection with the judgement seat of Jesus Christ. All taken together very clearly shows to the honest mind, that here we have yet again very strong testimony where Jesus is not only called "Yahweh", which is from the connection with the passage in Isaiah. But, we also here have "God" used in the Greek with the definite article (toi theoi), which some who doubt the Deity of Jesus Christ, say He is not called. The fact that we stand before the judgement seat of Jesus Christ, is the same as giving an account our ourselves, "to God", can only be understood that Paul here shows that Jesus Christ, is the same as "Yahweh", and "Elohim"! I am well aware that yet again, we have a corrupted reading in this passage in Romans. Where, instead of the original reading, "tou christou" ("Christ", as in "the judgment seat of Christ."; it was changed to, "tou theou" (God), where the subtle difference would escape the notice of the majority of readers. Let it not come as a surprise, that there are many instances, where Bible texts which speak of the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, have been tampered with. I mentioned above the Gothic version of the New Testament, which was the work of someone who denied the Holy Trinity, and the Deity of Jesus Christ. In this version, we can see clear evidence where his "theology" clouds his judgement, and he renders the verse of Philippians 2:6, "by galeiko guda (='similar to God'), whereas it should have been rendered, 'ibna guda'" (Bruce Metzger; The Early Versions of the New Testament; p.377). 'ibna guda', means, "equal to God", as it does in the Greek text of this passage. The reading for Romans 14:10 as "tou christou", dates from the time of the Bishop Polycarp, who was born in A.D. 69, and died, 155. The Bishop Irenaeus whom I have quoted from above, says that Polycarp knew the Apostle John. Since he wrote in Greek, this is a very early text for this reading, which is also to be found in the Old Latin and Latin Vulgate text, as well as the early Latin writer, Tertullian, who also informs us the the heretic, Marcion, also knew of this reading. The reading, "tou christou", was also known to Cyprian, Bishop in Carthage in North Africa (died, A.D.258); as well as the heretic Origen, whom I have mentioned above. To which we can add the Latin writers, Ambrosiaster (d.384); Ambrose (d.397), Jerome (d.420) and Augustine (d.430); and the Greek writer, Chrysostom (d.407). Its corruption would have been very early, as the reading, "tou theou" , was also known to Origen, who was himself an anti-Trinitarian. This study has shown, that there are a number of instances, where the Name "Yahweh", which means, as given by, Brown, Driver and Briggs in their Hebrew lexicon: "the one bringing into being, life-giver, giver of existence, creator, he who brings to pass...he who causes...the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, ever-living" (pages 217-218); being used for the Lord Jesus

Christ. It is impossible for anyone, who has honestly examined the Biblical evidence for themselves, to conclude that Jesus Christ can be a created being, or in any way less than God the Father. There is no Biblical justification to take the use of "Yahweh" when applied to Jesus, in any different sense than when it is used for the Father. It is only because of ones rejection or opposition to the Biblical fact that Jesus Christ is Almighty God, that one would conclude that Jesus is not "God" in exactly the same way that the Father and Holy Spirit are.