First, I'd like to apologize for freaking out last night. I was in a great deal of shock, and because of that I wrote a rather harsh post. But I still cannot believe that you have abandoned the beliefs you once held so dear. What happened, Aineo? Who persuaded you to turn away from these beliefs and to embrace doctrines that are contradictory to what is clearly taught in the Holy Bible?
Who has been filling my mind with this garbage? The Bible is filling my mind with this "garbage". You ask about John 1:1, what about John 17:3 and Peter's sermon in Acts 2? Now this is a prayer forum if you want to defend the Trinity the discussion belongs in Apologetics.
Then why are you ignoring Scriptures that clearly point to Jesus' Deity, Aineo? Or do you believe that only part of the Bible is inspired by God? Also, it is not the "traditions of men" that tell me that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh; it is the
Bible. And yes, Aineo. Anything that demeans Jesus Christ and denies His identity as God in the flesh is garbage, and it is of the Antichrist.
Aineo, you once believed that the Bible supported the Trinity doctrine, which teaches that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all one in essence, meaning that they are all God. Now, for some strange reason, you no longer believe that the Trinity doctrine holds water. Well, if that's the case, then perhaps you can explain the following verses.
ZECHARIAH 2:8-11 - For thus says the LORD of hosts: "He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me.
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," says the LORD. "Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.
Jesus, the One who was being sent, is clearly referred to as the LORD of hosts. As we know, "LORD" stands in the place of the name of God, which is Jehovah. Now, either there are two Jehovah's, or He exists in three separate Persons (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) who possess the exact same essence - the essence of the one true God.
ZECHARIAH 12:4-10 - "In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.'
"In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place--Jerusalem.
"The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
As we both know, Jesus Christ is the one who was pierced in the side with a spear (
John 19:33-34). Therefore, according to this verse, Jesus is the "Me whom they pierced" that this verse is referring to.
MATTHEW 1:23 - "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
What does "Immanuel" mean, Aineo?
Who is with us?
Who is this verse referring to?
MATTHEW 12:1-8 - At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"
But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."
Jesus was able to break the Sabbath when He chose to because He is the Lord of the Sabbath. This refers to the fact that He (having shared the essence of God with the Father and the Holy Spirit) gave the Sabbath to the Israelites so they could remember their deliverance from slavery (
Deuteronomy 5:15).
JOHN 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
This one says it all, Aineo. The Word was with God, and the Word was God, because the Word shares the essence of Deity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We both know that the Word is Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. There is no other way to interpret this Scripture, Aineo. Now, are you going to accept what this verse says? Or are you calling God a liar, seeing as we both know that
all Scripture is God-breathed?
JOHN 5:17-18-19 - But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."
Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
Who was Jesus making Himself equal with, Aineo?
JOHN 8:58 - Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Now, compare this verse to
Exodus 3:13-14. Who is the I AM? Now, if Jesus was not referring to Himself as the I AM ... why did the Jews attempt to stone Him, which was the punishment for blasphemy?
JOHN 10:30-33 - "I and My Father are one."
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?"
The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."
What did Jesus mean when He said that He and His Father are one? Did He mean one in purpose, as the Jehovah's Witnesses teach? Or did He mean that they are one in essence, which would explain why the Jews said that Jesus was making Himself God?
JOHN 20:28-29 - And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
How do you explain this verse? Perhaps Thomas was so overwhelmed with awe that he used God's name in vain? If that were the case, then why didn't Jesus rebuke Thomas right then and there?
ROMANS 9:5 - of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
What does this verse call Christ, Aineo?
PHILIPPIANS 2:5-8 - Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Firstly, Jesus was in the form of God. Secondly, He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, which means that He did not selfishly hold on to His equality with God. How can
you explain these verses, Aineo?
HEBREWS 1:8-12 - But to the Son he says:
"Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil
of gladness more than Your companions."
And:
"You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth,
And the heavens are the work of Your hands.
They will perish, but You remain;
And they will all grow old like a garment;
Like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed.
But You are the same, and Your years will not fail."
First of all, even
God the Father has called Jesus Christ "God"! That alone is proof enough. since we both know that God
does not lie! Secondly, compare these verses to
Psalm 102:24-27, which say that
GOD laid the foundation of the earth, and that the heavens are the work of
GOD'S hands. They [the heavens] will perish, but
GOD will remain. They [the heavens] will grow old like a garment and will be changed. But
GOD is the same, and
GOD'S years will never end. How do you explain the similarities between
Hebrews 1:8-12 and
Psalm 102:24-27?
REVELATION 1:7-8 - Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
In
Revelation 1:7-8, Jesus is the one who was pierced; He is the one who is to come; and He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty. Now, take at
Revelation 21:5-7 - Who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End in these verses?
ISAIAH 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; Besides Me there is no God.
Notice that there are two LORD's mentioned here - the LORD, the King of Israel ... and His Redeemer, the LORD of hosts. As I previously mentioned, "LORD" is used to replace God's holy name, Jehovah. Can you explain this one, Aineo? Are there two "LORD's" or "Jehovah"'s?
REVELATION 1:12-18 - Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
Compare these verses to
Isaiah 48:12-13. Who is the First and the Last of
Revelation 1:12-18? And who is the First and the Last of
Isaiah 48:12-13?