Is YHWH’s Servant, YHWH Himself? by Bethany Reise

Is YHWH’s Servant, YHWH Himself?

The question posed by the title, “Is YHWH’s servant, YHWH Himself?” should make you pause and think. But don’t struggle with it for too long though, because the question posed is nonsensical. It is impossible for a person to be their own servant, for a servant is “a person in the service of another.”[1] Yet for many Christians, the belief that YHWH’s servant, Jesus, is actually YHWH Himself, is surprisingly quite prevalent. However, this understanding of the relationship between God the Father and Jesus defies not only logic and language, but also Scripture. A much simpler solution is to be found within the Biblical text, coming from the lips of Jesus himself. In his prayer to the Father in John 17:3, Jesus says: “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent–Jesus Christ.” 

Jesus is not YHWH, the Father and the only true God; he is YHWH’s anointed and appointed human agent, the Messiah.

However, there are many different reasons why people believe that Jesus is YHWH. For instance some note, that some of the same names and titles that are applied to God are also applied to Jesus. Others will turn to the classic “I AM” statement in John 8:58, or to Jesus’ statement in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one,” as proof that Jesus claimed to be YHWH. John 1 is also a common text used to argue that Jesus is YHWH, God incarnate: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” (John 1:1-2, 14). One might also contend that since Jesus did the works of God–he performed miracles, healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sinners, and cast out demons–that he must have been God. Surely, it is a closed case: no ordinary human could be called by the titles of God, perform the works of God, and claim to be one with God, so the only possible conclusion is that Jesus is truly YHWH incarnate, the Almighty God made flesh.

Those that believe Jesus is YHWH were right about one thing – no ordinary human could do the things that Jesus did, but then again, Jesus was no ordinary human! However, to understand how Jesus could be called by the titles of the only true God, perform the works of God, and claim to be one with the Father, one must understand Jesus’ role as the servant of YHWH.

Traditionally, Jewish rabbis have believed the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 to be the promised Redeemer, the Messiah. The Babylonian Talmud, a collection of Jewish teachings based on the Hebrew Bible, demonstrates this connection: “‘The Messiah – what is his name?’… And our Rabbis said, ‘the pale one… is his name,’ as it is written ‘Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows – yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted’” (b. Sanh. 98b). Though these Jews did not know the identity of the promised Messiah, it has now become evident that Jesus is the Messiah, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53. Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples, confirmed this fact when he quoted Isaiah 53:9, as a reference to Jesus, writing: “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth” (1 Pet 2:21-22). He most certainly recognized that Jesus was YHWH’s servant.

Though Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is perhaps the most familiar reference to the Suffering Servant, there are several other “Suffering Servant Songs” which are found in Isaiah, particularly Isaiah 42, 49, and 50. These Suffering Servant Songs are of immeasurable consequence for those who believe that Jesus is YHWH, for they clearly demonstrate that YHWH’s Servant is a separate person from YHWH Himself. In the Songs, YHWH’s Servant says of himself that “Yahweh…formed me in the womb to be his servant…” and “…called me when I was in the womb” (Is 49:1,5) Furthermore, YHWH has empowered His Servant by His spirit and declares that through His Servant He will manifest His glory (Is 42:1, 49:3). This Servant is addressed by YHWH, given tasks to accomplish by YHWH, and is upheld and helped by YHWH (Is 42:5-7, 49:7, 50:7,9). He was given a “disciple’s tongue” by YHWH and He “opened” his ear (Is 50:4-5). Isaiah writes that YHWH’s Servant was thought to be “struck with affliction by God,” for “Yahweh brought the acts of rebellion of all of us to bear on him” for “it was Yahweh’s good pleasure to crush him with pain” so that “through him Yahweh’s good pleasure will be done” (Is 53:4,6,10). These verses demonstrate that YHWH’s servant is not YHWH Himself, but rather “Yahweh’s arm” – His agent through which He is accomplishing His will (Is 53:1).

Not only is it revealed that YHWH’s Servant is a separate individual from YHWH Himself, but also that YHWH’s servant has a God – a fact which strikes a devastating blow to the belief that Jesus, the Suffering Servant, is God, YHWH incarnate. In Isaiah 49:4-5, the Servant relates his frustration over the seeming futility of his work, but expresses his trust in his God, YHWH:

“…Yet all the while my cause was with Yahweh and my reward with my God. And now Yahweh has spoken, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him and to re-unite Israel to him;-I shall be honoured in Yahweh’s eyes, and my God has been my strength…” (Is 49:4-5).

The facts are inescapable: this Servant, who been identified as Jesus the Messiah, has a God whose name is YHWH. Therefore, Jesus is certainly not God, and he is certainly not YHWH! It cannot be made anymore plain: The one sent is not the sender, and if the sender is YHWH, the one sent is not YHWH.

These conclusions are consistent with New Testament evidence as well, in particular the words of Jesus. Jesus makes a distinction between the person of YHWH, his Father, and himself in his prayer in John 17:3, where he says: “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent–Jesus Christ.” In this verse, Jesus acknowledges the Father, YHWH, as the only true God and Jesus as the one whom He has sent. Furthermore, Jesus affirms that he has a God, not once but several times in the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation. [See Rev. 3:12 - 4 times he says “my God”]

He says that he has the same God and Father as the Jewish woman, Mary Magdalene: “‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’” (John 20:17). This evidence presents a solid case against the belief that Jesus is YHWH, the Lord God Almighty.

But how then, if Jesus was not YHWH, was he able to speak as God, be called by the same titles as YHWH, and perform the works of God? To understand this, one must also be familiar with the Hebraic concept of agency. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Religion says the following about the law of agency:

“Agent (Heb. Shaliah): The main point of the Jewish law of agency is expressed in the dictum, ‘a person’s agent is regarded as the person himself’ (Ned. 72B; Kidd, 41b). Therefore any act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principal, who therefore bears full responsibility for it with consequent complete absence of liability.”[2]

Therefore, an agent sent in the name of his master was to be received as the master himself, as though it were the master himself who was speaking and acting. Aubrey Johnson, author of The One and Many in the Israelite Conception of God, clarifies this concept:

“In Hebrew thought a patriarch’s personality extended through his entire household to his wives, his sons and their wives, his daughters, servants in his household and even in some sense his property…In a specialized sense when the patriarch as lord of his household deputized his trusted servant as his malak (his messenger or angel) the man was endowed with the authority and resources of his lord to represent him fully and transact business in his name. In Semitic thought this messenger-representative was conceived of as being personally – and in his very words – the presence of the sender.”[3]

It is from this Jewish perspective that one must understand Jesus, the man who “comes in the name of the YHWH” whom God sent to accomplish His works.

As God’s agent, Jesus is authorized to share some of the same titles as YHWH, though not all. In Isaiah 45:21, YHWH says “…there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.” Without an understanding of the law of agency, it is easy to see why one might be tempted to believe that Jesus is YHWH. Both Isaiah and many of the New Testament writers refer to God as the only Savior. Jesus Christ is also frequently referred to as our Savior in the New Testament. Therefore it is reasoned that since there is only one Savior, it is Jesus Christ and he is God. However, Acts 13:23 clarifies the whole matter, for it declares that “…according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.” So clearly it may be seen that Jesus is given the title “Savior,” not because he is the Almighty God, YHWH, but rather because he is the agent through whom God is accomplishing His salvation. It is in this light, that the names and titles that are shared by both Jesus and YHWH must be understood.

Jesus’ authoritative words and miraculous works must also be understood in light of the Jewish concept of agency. As the agent or servant of YHWH, Jesus was given the authority and power of his Father, YHWH, to speak and act in His name. This is in accordance with the prophecy given to Moses in Deuteronomy 18:18, where YHWH says to Moses: “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.” Jesus is identified as this prophet in Acts 3:22. Jesus himself claims “…I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” and “…the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do –testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me” (John 12:49, 5:36). He also admits that “the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19). This is why Jesus’ statement “…He who has seen Me has seen the Father…” was not a claim to be YHWH incarnate. Instead, it showed that Jesus clearly understood his role YHWH’s Servant, by speaking and acting as God as His representative, just like Moses was God’s agent and acted “as God” to Pharaoh in Exodus 7:1 ... It is for this reason that Jesus could claim that “I and the Father are one,” for he was one with the Father in the sense that both he and the Father worked as a unit with the same purposes and goals in mind.[4]

The Scriptures are unmistakably clear: YHWH is the only true God and Jesus Christ is YHWH’s Servant, the Messiah. If one is to acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah, it is impossible to then say that Jesus is YHWH, for the two are mutually exclusive. According to its biblical usage, one may use the title messiah, literally meaning “anointed one,” to refer to a prophet, a priest or a king who was consecrated for service to God.[5] As author Greg Deuble notes, “The Hebrews believed that when God anointed that person, he or she was equipped to do God’s work because he/she received a measure of the Holy Spirit…There is no hint that the title messiah designates the Deity. To be messiah is to be an agent of the one God.”[6]

Therefore, since Jesus is identified as the Messiah, the Servant of YHWH, Jesus is not YHWH. YHWH, who is recognized by Isaiah as “our Father,” definitively says of Himself: “I am Yahweh, and there is no other; there is no God but Me” (Is 63:16, 45:5). It is time that we return to this simple truth.

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[1] servant. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/servant (accessed: May 07, 2013).

[2] R.J.Z Werblowsky, G Wigoder, New York: Adama Books, 1986, p. 15.

[3] Aubrey Johnson, “The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception of God,” quoted by Juan Baixeras, “The Blasphemy of Jesus of Nazareth.”

[4] Benner, Jeff A. “Unity.” Ancient Hebrew Research Center. http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/ (accessed May 11, 2013).

[5] Deuble, Greg S. They Never Told Me THIS in Church!: A Call to Read the Bible with New Eyes, p. 144.

[6] Ibid

The above article was taken from:

the Kingdom Ready Blog

Some editing has been done on this article.

God’s Not-So-Secret Agents by Bethany Reise

God’s Not-So-Secret Agents

The Scriptures clearly say that no man can see God and live (Ex 33:20). But the Scriptures also describe many instances of people “seeing” God, even meeting with him “face to face” (Gen 32:31, Num 12:1-8). How then are the apparent “contradictions” reconciled? Some resort to adopting a Trinitarian perspective of God, and claim that when He appeared to His people in the Old Testament it was in the form of Jesus, the pre-incarnate Son of God, who is also God. However, to assert that God is more than one person is to divorce oneself from the God of the Old Testament and to deny the foundational Jewish belief that there is but one God, YHWH. This fact is clearly stated in their creed in Deuteronomy 6:4:
“Hear O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!”
[YAHWEH our God, YAHWEH is one!]

Thus, the answer to the mystery of the apparent “God sightings” in the Old Testament must be approached solely from a Hebraic perspective, with the knowledge that God is One and has never been seen or heard by man (John 5:37). It is only by applying the thoroughly Hebraic law of agency to the Scriptures, that seeming inconsistencies are resolved and the true nature of God and His Messiah remain undefiled.

The law of agency is quite a simple concept, but a central one. It is considered common knowledge among Hebrew scholars and Jews, though typically not apparent to the average reader who tries to understand the Scriptures from a modern western view point.¹ To understand the Hebrew Scriptures, one must think like a Hebrew and become acquainted with the law of agency.

The Encyclopedias of Jewish Religion explains it quite well:
“Agent (Heb. Shaliah): The main point of the law of agency is expressed in the dictum, ‘a person’s agent is regarded as the person himself’ (Ned 72b; Kidd, 41b). Therefore an act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principal…”²

In other words, the agent who is sent to do the will of his commissioning superior is regarded as the superior themself and authorized to act on his or her behalf. Thus, the agent may bear the name, authority, and title of their sender whom they are representing and be received as such. For example, an agent bearing the name of God may receive reverence, for “homage given to God’s agent or representative is homage ultimately given to God Himself.”³ It is by utilizing the law of agency and adopting a Hebraic perspective, that the supposed controversies may be understood and intelligently interpreted.

A good example of the principle of agency in action is demonstrated in the Exodus account. When God determines to deliver His people from the oppression of Egypt, He makes Moses “as God to Pharaoh” with his brother Aaron acting as his prophet (Ex 7:1). The LORD sends Moses to Pharaoh to say: “This is what Yahweh says: Here is how you will know that I am Yahweh. Watch. I will strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood” (Ex 7:16-17). Since Moses and Aaron have been commissioned by God as agents of God, they are given the authority to speak and act as God to Pharaoh. Notice that when Moses spoke God’s words to Pharaoh, God said that He would strike the Nile with the staff in His hand. However, it is clearly not God who carries out the action; it is His agent acting on His authority. God commands Moses: “Tell Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers, canals, ponds, and all their water reservoirs—and they will become blood.” And when Aaron raises his staff, all the waters of Egypt are turned to blood. Thus, the law of agency becomes apparent: Moses and Aaron were commissioned by God, to be received as God and given the authority of God, to carry out the work of God as agents acting in his stead.

The principle of agency is not uncommon in the Old Testament; in fact God frequently appointed both angels and men to speak and act on His behalf. It is clear that God’s people were quite familiar with the concept. In Genesis 31:11-13, Jacob relates a story of a prophetic dream that he had to his wives. In his dialogue with them, he relates that “the angel of God said to me in the dream… I am the God of Bethel…” It is important to note that though the angel clearly identifies himself as God, he was understood by Jacob, his wives, and the author of Genesis to be an angel of God, or a messenger of God. In fact, this must be the only explanation, for “Jacob knew nothing of a Trinity, and there is certainly no evidence that Jacob would have recognized he was talk to the Messiah.”⁴ This incident makes it apparent that Jacob’s family and the Hebrew people were familiar with the concept of agency, for they were quite comfortable with accepting the angel who spoke the words of God in the first person, as though he was God Himself.⁵

Unfortunately many people today are not acquainted with this beautifully simple Hebraic concept. As a result, they struggle over the many “God sightings” of the Old Testament and attempt to explain them by asserting that the are actually manifestations of the pre-incarnate God-man they call Jesus. They reason that because the angel of the LORD speaks as God Himself, he must actually be God. Therefore, they equate this figure with the second member of the Trinity. However if one were to follow this logic through, one would be forced to conclude that both Moses and Aaron were God as well, for they both spoke the very words of God and acted in His name. But one would be hard-pressed to find any evidence to support the claim that Moses and Aaron were God. However, these Old Testament figures are to be understood as God’s representatives who are regarded as God Himself, because the Father invested his name and authority in them. By understanding the principle of agency, the apparent contradictions of the Old Testament are resolved, and there is no need to distort the oneness of God or the pure humanity of Jesus the Messiah, God’s anointed agent.

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¹ Essoe, Raymond James. “Shaliah: An Introduction to the Law of Agency.” Christian Monotheism. http://www.christianmonotheism.com/
² R.J.Z. Werblowsky, G. Wigoder, New York: Adama Books, 1986, p. 15.
³ Deuble, Greg S. They Never Told Me THIS in Church!: A Call to Read the Bible with New Eyes. Restoration Fellowship, 2006, p. 66.
⁴ Spirit & Truth Fellowship International. “Divine Agents: Speaking and Acting in God’s Stead.” Biblical Unitarian: A Website about God & his son, Jesus Christ. http://www.biblicalunitarian.com/ .
⁵ Deuble, p. 66.

The above article was taken from:

the Kingdom Ready Blog

Some editing has been done on this article.

KINGDOM ARTICLES by Bethany Reise

What You Don't Hear in Church About Salvation

Over the years, the term salvation has been both overused and misused to the point where the original meaning of the word has been all but lost. The deception of the false gospel that is currently being proclaimed in most denominations has led many people away from a true understanding of salvation. In today’s church, if one simply believes the “gospel” that Jesus died for their sins and was resurrected from the dead, if they profess him as Lord, and “accept him in their heart,” then they are “saved.” Saved from eternal hellfire and torment, that is. This understanding of the gospel and salvation however, could not be further from the truth. And it is of utmost importance to understand the true meaning of salvation in both the Old and New Testament, in light of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word yosha’ is the primary word for salvation. As stated in the Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, the word yosha’ “has a root meaning of “broadening” or “enlarging” and can connote the creation of space in the community for life and conduct.” This concept of salvation is a frequent occurrence in Israel’s history. Countless times the Israelites are faced with an adversary or circumstance that appears insurmountable, but God intervenes and delivers His people, instead placing them in a situation of safety and prosperity. The term salvation can also be applied to describe the restoration of people’s relationship with God. Harper Collins states that the “goal of such deliverance is the establishment of God’s kingdom reign among His people and other nations of the world.” This eschatological perspective of salvation is perhaps the most familiar perspective in today’s church, though the mainstream churches are teaching a completely perverted message about the gospel and salvation.

In the New Testament, Harper Collins states that “God’s intent to “save” or “rescue” (the meaning of the Greek root sozo) is identified with the person and ministry of Jesus.” However, the problem is that the Church today has strayed away from the teachings of Jesus and is preaching a different gospel.
The gospel is not that, “Jesus died for your sins so that you can be saved from hell and go to heaven.” In fact, the disciples were sent out to preach the gospel long before Jesus told them he was to be crucified. In Matthew 16:21-23, Peter even rebukes Jesus for saying that he was to be crucified. Obviously, if the disciples were unaware of Jesus’ impending death and resurrection, that could not have been the gospel message that they were preaching.

The gospel message that Jesus proclaimed is found in Mark 1:14-15, where it says that he “came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.’” He also taught in his Sermon on the Mount that the righteous would inherit the earth, which is in accordance with Old Testament Scriptures like Psalm 37:9 that say “evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.” He made no mention of living in heaven forever. Psalm 115:16 says that the highest heavens belong to YAHWEH and that the earth is man’s inheritance. Thus, the gospel message announces future reign of God in the coming Kingdom of God that is to be established on the earth at
Jesus’ glorious second coming.

There are many in the church today that believe that Paul preached a different gospel, a gospel about Jesus and not the gospel of Jesus. However, from Scripture it is clear that this is a fallacy because Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 that the death and resurrection of Christ were of “first importance,” not that they were whole the gospel. In Acts 19:28, Paul “entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.” At the end of Acts, Paul’s message still has not changed, and in Acts 28:31 it relates that while he was in Rome “he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.” It is important to note the distinction between the subject of Paul’s preaching, which was the kingdom of God, and the subject of his teaching, which was Jesus Christ. So it is possible to see that Paul proclaimed the same gospel as Jesus, the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

The gospel of the Kingdom is the only gospel that should be declared because as Paul contends in Galatians 1:6-9, there is only one gospel, which is the gospel that Jesus preached. That is the gospel that we are urged to obey, for Paul writes in Romans 1:16 that “it is the power of God for salvation.” In II Thessalonians 1:8, Paul reveals that God will deal out “retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” Hebrews 5:9 further clarifies that Jesus “became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation.” Understanding and obeying the gospel of the Kingdom is imperative for eternal salvation and life in the Kingdom; it is necessary to not only believe the words of Jesus but also to act on them and obey them, because his words are the source of our eternal life and salvation.

Harper Collins also writes that a “‘saved’ life is seen in the context of a life that is ‘redeemed’ in relation to God, oneself, and others in the community.” According to Romans 5:9, we are redeemed and our relationship to God, though once broken through sin and disobedience, is restored through the blood of Christ, saving us from the wrath of God. It is only by the grace of God that we are saved, Ephesians 2:9 says that “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Jesus is our righteousness, and through loving obedience to him and his teachings, we have entrance into God’s kingdom. As Acts 4:12 proclaims, “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we may be saved.” However, nothing unclean may enter into the kingdom, as evidenced by
1 Corinthians 6:9 where Paul writes that “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God,” so according to Philippians 2:12, we must “work out our salvation with fear and trembling.” The gospel of the Kingdom of God can be understood as the answer to the question of “why” people need salvation, and forgiveness through Christ provides the answer to the question of “how” one enters the Kingdom.

In conclusion, salvation can be understood as either divine deliverance from a situation or an adversary or as an act of restoration of the relationship between the Creator and His creation. In regard to the eschatological perspective of salvation, salvation must be understood in light of Jesus’ gospel message of the earthly Kingdom of God that is to be established at his second coming. Because nothing defiled may enter into the Kingdom of God, salvation through obedience to Jesus Christ is the only way one can enter into the Kingdom of God. Despite the delusion and confusion in the world today, there is only one gospel and one hope for salvation.

By Bethany Reise

History of Man and the Abrahamic Covenant

Since the dawn of creation, God’s original intention was to dwell and fellowship with mankind. Adam was the first man created by God from the dust and placed in the Garden of Eden to tend it and take care of it. Everything that God made was good, and man was made in the image of God. However, Adam and his wife disobeyed and rebelled against God when they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, after being tempted by the serpent. Thus, sin entered God’s perfect creation for the first time and Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. ... The world became exceedingly wicked to the point where God was going to destroy the whole world with a flood. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD and faithfully obeyed His command to build an ark, and a remnant of people was saved. Despite their salvation from destruction, mankind continued in sin and rebel against God, as seen in the tower of Babel where man tried to exalt himself as God and build a tower into the heavens. God miraculously confused the languages of the people and they were scattered. But despite their disobedience and rebellion, God still loved mankind and set in motion His plan to restore the broken relationship.

In an act of grace, God chose and called a man named Abram from Ur of the Chaldeans to “go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you” (Gen 12:1). God promised to make him a great nation and make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. Abram responded in faith and left with his wife and all of his possessions to go into the place where God was leading him. When Abram reaches Canaan, God tells him that he has reached the land of promise and will give it to him and his descendants after him forever. However, at this point Abram and his wife are very old and have no children. God promises Abram he will have a child of his own body as his heir and that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in heaven. Abram believes God, and it is credited towards him as righteousness. After many long years, God visits Abram and makes a covenant with him and changes Abram’s name to Abraham. God promises that He will be the God of Abraham and his descendants forever. He also promises that Abraham will be the father of many nations and have all the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. Abraham receives the command of circumcision as the sign of the covenant between God and His people. God also promises that Sarai, whose name He changes to Sarah, will bear a son and be the mother of many nations. In time, Sarah bore to Abraham a son named Isaac, and from him the descendants of Abraham multiplied to be greater in number than the sand of the shore.

However, according to Hebrews 11, Abraham is still waiting to receive the promise, because he ... [was looking for a country] prepared in heaven to be revealed in the age to come.
Romans 4:13 says that “the promise to Abraham [and] to his descendants [was] that he would be heir of the world.” This was his hope, the same hope that is available to the all of the heirs of Abraham who are heirs by faith. In this way, God extended the promise of Abraham to all nations because He has declared that all of those who are “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” as Galatians 3:26 says, are “Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (Gal 3:29). When Jesus taught and preached during his ministry on earth, he confirmed the promises to Abraham. He preached that people should repent and believe the good news. This good news that he preached was the gospel of the Kingdom of God, a message about the reign of God that is to be established on the earth at the end of time. It includes the hope of the future renewal of the earth where Christ will reign with his saints who will be kings and priests to God. Through repentance from sin and salvation through faith in Christ, the descendants of Abraham will finally inherit what was originally promised, fellowship with God in the land of promise.


By Bethany Reise
(However I have done some editing)

Please see also A Little Leaven…And We All Go To Heaven?

God in the Gospels and Acts by Bethany Reise

God in the Gospels and Acts by Bethany Reise

Both the Gospels and the book of Acts make a clear distinction between the Lord God, the Father, and His Son Jesus, the Lord Messiah. Luke makes this apparent in his birth narrative, by identifying two distinct persons, each identified by the title “Lord.”
He writes that Jesus, “the Lord’s Christ” [i.e. YAHWEH'S Christ] (Luke 2:26), “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32). He would be begotten by the power of the Most High, and designated “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). From this, it may be seen that by His power the Most High, the Lord God, created a human child in the womb of Mary who would be known as [both] the Lord’s Christ [YAHWEH'S Christ and] Christ the Lord [or the Lord Christ
cp. Col 3:24].

So why is it important that there are two clearly defined persons with the title “Lord” mentioned in the Gospels? It is significant, because only one of them can be the Almighty God, the Most High.
The monotheistic creed of Israel, which was affirmed by Jesus as the greatest commandment,
states that “The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mark 12:29). [YAHWEH our God, YAHWEH is one]
This excludes the possibility of there being multiple “Lords” in the “Godhead.”

This leads to another important question; if there are two Lords, which Lord is the Almighty God? Well, the answer to this question has already been answered by Luke in the aforementioned verses.
The Most High is identified as the Lord God, and Jesus is identified as the Son of the Most High, the Lord Messiah. If Jesus is the Son of the Most High, created by the power of the Most High, he is obviously not the Most High, and therefore not God.

This is further substantiated by Jesus’ own claims about his identity. Jesus claimed to be the Messiah, which was historically known by Jews to a claim to be God’s appointed agent, the anointed King, who would establish God’s everlasting kingdom on the earth and reign on the throne of David with righteousness and justice forever. Moses’ prophetic utterance in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 points towards this appointed agent, a prophet who would speak the words of God in His name and authority. Jesus is identified as this prophet in the book of Acts [3:20-23]. Thus, Jesus’ authority was not of his own derivation, it was given to him by the one who sent him. He himself acknowledged, “By myself I can do nothing…I seek not to please myself but him who sent me” (John 5:30). Even the words that he spoke were not his own: “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49). Jesus was a man, sent and empowered by God to accomplish the works of God his Father, in His name.

It may be seen even more clearly in the book of Acts, that it was the initiative and power of the Lord God working in and through Jesus that made Jesus who he was and empowered him to accomplish his Father’s works. Paul says that it was God who brought a Savior to Israel, from the lineage of David, according to the promise (Acts13:23). Acts 2:22 identifies Jesus, the Savior, as “a man attested to you by God with miracles and signs and wonders that God performed through him.” His healings and exorcisms are attributed to the fact that “God was with him” and because “God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). He is identified as the servant of the God who was glorified by God in Acts 2:36. Several times in the book of Acts, God is identified as the one who raised Jesus from the dead (e.g. Acts 2:32). The Scriptures show that though there are two Lords - there is only one Lord who is God and that Lord is not Jesus, but his Father, the Most High God who supplied the power for all Jesus did.

The above article was taken from:

the Kingdom Ready Blog

Some editing has been done on this article.

SCRIPTURES SPEAK! - 2

What follows are some wonderful articles from the Scriptures Speak blog written by Jesavee :-

John 8:58

John 8:58

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

No, Jesus didn't mean that he lived before Abraham or that he is God or an angel.
The God that sent Moses in Exodus 3:14-15 is the very same God who glorified his servant Jesus in Acts 3:13-15. Jesus is a man, and his God is Yahweh
(1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 2:22; Hebrews 7:24-28). Jesus said in verse 56 of John 8 that Abraham saw his day and rejoiced to see it and was glad. It means that before Abraham, Jesus was the Messiah, the son of man (John 4:25-26; Micah 5:2-5). However, Jesus was made of a woman in due time (Galatians 4:4; Luke 1:30-35).  Earlier in the same chapter Jesus tells them in verse 24, "if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins", and then a few verses down he let them know that they would know who he is with certainty by saying, "When you have lifted up the son of man, then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father has taught me I speak these things". Jesus does nothing of himself and only seeks the Father's will and not his own will, for Jesus is the son of the one who is God (John 5:18,30,43; John 7:15-17;
2 John 1:3; Ephesians 1:3,17). In John 8, Jesus refers to himself as a man who told them the truth, which he heard from God (John 8:40). So all that Jesus said in John 8 must be considered in interpreting John 8:58. Jesus was foreordained before the foundation of the world, and was even said to be slain from the foundation the world. No one would imagine that when Jesus was crucified it was from the foundation of the world literally (Revelation 13:8), just as no one would imagine that we existed before we were actually conceived, since God has chosen us in Jesus before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 13:8; Ephesians 1:4).

We must take into account the Hebrew culture. Whatever God says will come to pass or happen, we can speak as though it has already happened. Even though it has not literally happened yet. God himself said that his word will not return to him void (Isaiah 55:11). For example in John 17:5 Jesus was in prayer to his Father, which is the only true God, and Jesus said, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Well Jesus had glory with the Father before the world was because God had already purposed it, yet in emphasis, Jesus was made of a woman in due time (Galatians 4:4; Luke 1:30-35). If you read on in the context of John 17 you will see that Jesus says that the same glory that God has given him, he has given it to his disciples so that they may be one as Jesus and his Father are one. It is so that they may be one in Jesus and his Father, being all made perfect in one (John 17:20-23). Then if you read in the Acts of the Apostles you will learn exactly when Jesus actually received this honor and glory from God and it was not before Jesus was actually born (2 Peter 1:17). Because of Jesus, now can we be called the sons of God, crying Abba Father (Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). We can be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
God is not ever described as an heir in the scriptures, because God IS God. 

So indeed Abraham saw Jesus' day, but by faith, not literally.
Even David, a man after God's own heart, is both dead and buried and has not ascended to heaven, but it is said that David was seeing it before and spoke of the resurrection (Acts 2:29-36; Acts 13:22). According to Hebrews 11,  Abraham and many others all died in faith having not received the promises, "God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." This is in reference to the resurrection in which all those that sleep (are dead) in Christ shall be raised together in the first resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4). You can read about this in Revelation 20 and also about the second death. There is a resurrection of life and a resurrection of damnation
(John 5:29).

There were many prophecies concerning Jesus our Lord, which God spoke by the prophets (Matthew 2:23; Acts 3:20-23; Acts 13:23; Luke 1:68-70; Isaiah 53; Isaiah 11; Romans 15:12). So indeed the prophets and others knew of Jesus, God's anointed, before Jesus was even born (John 5:43-47; Acts 10:38-42; Acts 4:27). Jesus even opened up their understanding of the scriptures and expounded to them of the things concerning himself in them, after his resurrection in Luke 24: 25-27, 44-48.

Indeed, Abraham rejoiced to see Jesus' day and he saw it.

By Jesavee

The Kingdom of God

God created the earth to be inhabited, and the earth abides forever (Isaiah 45:18; Ecclesiastes 1:4). The Lord God gave Jesus, his Son, the throne of his father David (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:30-35; Luke 22:28-30). The throne of David [was] on the earth ... [in] Jerusalem. There is never any indication that David's throne moved, or that David was on the throne in heaven at any time. The city of David, is Jerusalem, which is Zion, and it is on the earth (Psalms 48:2; Isaiah 52:1; 2 Samuel 5:7; 1 Chronicles 11:5; 2 Samuel 3:9-10; 1 Kings 2:12,24; 1 Kings 2:33,45; 1 Kings 3:6; Psalms 132:11;
Jeremiah 17:25; Luke 1:32).
Mount Zion cannot be removed and abides forever (Psalms 125:1; Joel 3:20).

When Jesus comes back he will sit on the throne of his glory, which is on the earth, that God gave to him (Zechariah 6:12-13; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:31). Jesus must reign a thousand years and when the last enemy is destroyed, which is death, Jesus will put down all rule, and all authority, and power, and deliver the kingdom to God, his Father, so that God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:23-28; Revelation 20: 4-15; Revelation 3:11-12; Revelation 21:1- 7).
It will be manifest that Jesus is subject to God, who did put all things under him
(1 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31; John 14:28). Of course God did not put himself under Jesus, so he is an exception (1 Corinthians 15:27-28). The meek will inherit the earth (Psalms 37:11; Matthew 5:5). The righteous will never be removed from the earth (Psalms 37:29; Proverbs 10:30). The wicked will be destroyed and cut off from the earth (Psalms 37:9, 20, 28, 34, 38). 

Those who are dead in Christ at the time of Jesus' coming will be a part of the first resurrection, and some in Christ will still be alive at the time of Jesus' coming, and will be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus in the air with the others
(Revelation 20:4-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53).
Jesus will raise the dead up in the last day by the power of God (John 6:39-40,44,54;
1 Corinthians 6:14; John 5:20-30). They of the first resurrection and all those in Christ, will reign with Jesus during his thousand year reign, and will not be hurt of the second death (Revelation 20:4,6). There is a resurrection of life, and a resurrection of damnation (John 5:29; Acts 24:15). 

The rest of the dead, who are not in Christ are resurrected to [judgment], after the thousand years. The second death is when the wicked are destroyed together in the lake of fire, being cut off from the earth (Psalms 37:20,38; Rev 20:12-15; Matthew 13:41-43, 49-50). To perish, means to be destroyed, and to not live anymore (Numbers 17:12; Genesis 7:23). The second death is "death", and there is no life when you are dead, you do not know anything or feel anything (Ecclesiastes 9: 3-6; 1 Kings 21:15).
["We are Souls" therefore:] Souls are not immortal and do die, and have died, the dead cannot praise God (Psalms 88:10-12; Psalms 115:17; Joshua 10:28,35,37,39;
Acts 3:23; Ezekiel 18:4; Revelation 16:3). The dead can live again in the resurrection, we have hope in that Jesus our Lord, the first begotten of the dead, was raised from the dead by God (Hebrews 5:8-10; John 11:25; Acts 2:22-36, 10:38-42, 17:31, 24:15; 1 Peter 1:3,19-21; 1 Corinthians 15:12-23; Philippians 3:7-12; Revelation 20:4-6). Those who believe in God's only begotten Son and are obedient to the will of God will have everlasting life (John 3:16; Matthew 5:20, 7:21, 12:20, 18:3, 19:21-30; 1 John 5:11;
1 John 2:17; Romans 6; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 5:16-26).

The city of Jesus' God, is called New Jerusalem, and in the future, it will come down out of heaven from Jesus' God, like a bride prepared for her husband (Revelation 3:11-12). All things will be made new, all the old things would have passed away. There will be peace on earth (Psalms 37:11). God himself will tabernacle among his people. The wicked, who were in the second death will have already been destroyed in the lake of fire, and cut off from the earth, so they will not see this kingdom (Revelation 21:1-7;
John 3:3-7). 

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, for he said, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent" (Luke 4:43; Luke 8:1; Matthew 4:23, 9:35; Mark 1:14). Jesus sent his disciples to preach the kingdom of God (Luke 9:1-2, 59-62; Luke 16:16). They preached the kingdom of God in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8:12; Acts 20:25; Acts 28:30-31). In the instruction of the manner of prayer, Jesus mentions the kingdom saying, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:5-13)." The kingdom of God will come.

By Jesavee 

However some editing has been done on this article.