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Thursday 19 December 2013

Yet another bumper harvest from the tree of trinitarian logic

The Holy multi-millionity courtesy of trinitarian logic.




These examples show the absolute necessity for CLEAR, PRECISE SCRIPTURAL STATEMENTS proving the trinity such as: "(1) The Father, (2) The Son [or Christ, or Jesus, or Messiah, etc.] and (3) The Holy Spirit are three persons who are all equally God. These 3 persons are the only true God, and there are no others." Surely the inspired Bible writers were capable of making a statement AT LEAST as clear and precise as that! They certainly had no trouble making CLEAR, PRECISE, many-times-repeated statements on other ESSENTIAL teachings such as exactly who was the long-awaited Messiah ("Christ" in NT Greek).

Here are a tiny fraction of such statements about the precise identity of the Christ: "These are written [the whole Gospel of John], that ye may believe that JESUS IS THE CHRIST, The Son of God...." - John 20:31. And John 1:41, 42 and 4:25, 26 CLEARLY AND SPECIFICALLY state that Jesus is the Messiah and Christ. Even the evil spirits "knew that he [Jesus] was THE CHRIST" - Luke 4:41. The angel said of Jesus: "for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, WHO IS CHRIST the Lord." - Luke 2:11. The high priest asked Jesus: "Art thou THE CHRIST, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am..." - Mark 14:61. Jesus' Apostles CLEARLY stated exactly who he was: "And Simon Peter answered and said, THOU ART THE CHRIST, the Son of the Living God," - Matt. 16:16.

Certainly these CLEAR, COMPLETE STATEMENTS and hundreds more like them are necessary because that knowledge is an essential step toward gaining eternal life!! "And this is LIFE ETERNAL, that they should KNOW ...him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ." - John 17:3.
This knowledge of exactly who the Christ is was not essential beforeJesus' earthly birth and so was not provided until the necessary time when he was on earth (and thereafter). Then it was provided in overwhelming abundance and clarity because it was essential for eternal life!

So why is there no correspondingly clear, precise statement that `God is THREE and God is one' anywhere in the entire Bible?

The knowledge of exactly who is God is (and always has been) an ESSENTIAL first step toward eternal life. "Father, .... this is LIFE ETERNAL, that they should KNOW THEE THE ONLY TRUE GOD...." - John 17:1,3 ASV. (Compare 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Ps. 79:5,6; Hosea 4:1,6) And throughout the Holy Scriptures from the time of Moses until today, the only true God (Jer.10:10 KJV, ASV, RSV), the Father (Is. 63:16; 64:8) was known by the Hebrews as a single individual with an individual personal name, JEHOVAH (or `Yahweh'/'Yehowah' if you should prefer a likely HEBREW pronunciation).

"That they may know that thou [SINGULAR personal pronoun] ALONE, whose name is Jehovah art the Most High over all the earth." - ASV (compare KJV) - Ps. 83:18. "JEHOVAH, the God of your fathers ... THIS IS MY NAME FOREVER..." - Ex. 3:15 ASV (compare NEB). "...I JEHOVAH, and there is no God else besides me.... Look unto ME and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is NONE ELSE." - Is. 45:21,22 ASV. (The Bible clearly and repeatedly shows that others ARE called elohim and theos ["God/god"], including angels and human judges of Israel, but NONE are EQUALLY GOD with the Father, Jehovah!) "For I am God, and there is none else; I am God and there is none LIKE ME." - Is. 46:9 ASV. "He that sacrificeth unto ANY god, save JEHOVAH ONLY shall be utterly destroyed" - Ex. 22:20 ASV. And "Through Jesus [as our High Priest], therefore, let us continually offer to God a SACRIFICE of praise - the fruit of the lips that confess his name." - Heb. 13:15 NIV. But if we then give a "SACRIFICE of praise" to JESUS as being GOD, and he is not truly equally God with Jehovah the Father, then we have violated the command of God that was just quoted (Ex.22:20)! And most certainly we do not "know God" (John 17:3; 2 Thess. 1:7,8)!

The knowledge of exactly who God is has been CLEARLY, REPEATEDLY taught THROUGHOUT the Scriptures (as any ESSENTIAL, LIFESAVING information must be).

Christendom's popular trinity-defender Dr. Walter Martin admits the PRIMARY importance of the knowledge of Jesus and God (Jn 17:3) which he proclaims to be the Trinity Doctrine. But even for an admittedly less important doctrine (concerning the reward of all God's faithful followers) Martin has declared: "A doctrine of such momentous importance ... would CERTAINLY [if true] have been CAREFULLY DEFINED in the New Testament; yet it is not!" And, therefore, he concludes that that important doctrine must not be scriptural and, therefore, MUST NOT BE TRUE! - p.120, The Kingdom of the Cults, 1985 ed. But nowhere in the entire Bible is the much more important PRIMARY doctrine of the Trinity "CAREFULLY DEFINED"! And, therefore IT MUST NOT BE TRUE!

The ONLY way trinitarians can support the idea that God is many and God is one (an ancient Hindu - among others - concept), in spite of the clear conception THROUGHOUT the history and writings of the MONOTHEISTIC Jews even up to today, is by using the SAME KIND of vague, indirect picking and choosing to MAKE the scriptures seem to say what they want, as we have done in the following examples "proving" (trinitarian-style) that "God is many (millions?), but God is one."


Trinitarian-type "Evidence"
We know, of course, that God is made up of more than one person. But the whole "body" of Him includes ALL the Sons of God (Jesus is only the first of many brothers in that one "body" who are all joint-heirs with Christ - Ro.8:17,29). 1 Cor. 12:12, for example, teaches: "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body [a classic description of how God can be MANY, but still only one]; SO ALSO IS THE CHRIST."

Now what is this body of Christ which is ONE (but composed of many members)? Paul continues, "Now YE [Christ's human brothers, the rest of the Sons of God, the new Israel] are the BODY OF CHRIST" - 1 Cor 12:27.


So the mystery is now revealed! Just as the one God is composed of three "persons", all EQUALLY GOD, so God the Son is made up of thousands (millions?) of his earth-born brothers, the "New Israel" (see Americana, 1957, v.6, p.604)!

Therefore, since the second member of the Holy Trinity is COMPOSED OF all his many brothers, THEY TOO MUST ACTUALLY BE GOD! 1 Cor. 6:15,17,20 and Eph. 1:23 confirm this great truth (compare Gal. 3:26-28 NIV, TEV). God is many, but God is one!

Yes, the last and greatest mystery of all has been revealed by the Apostle Paul: Those Christians who actually make up Christ's very body are "one flesh" with Him and are, therefore, equally God with Him just as man and wife are mysteriously united into one flesh which makes th And Ephesians 5:21-32 again re-emphasizes the importance of this great mystery: knowing that ONLY God can have absolute perfection, the Apostle Paul first describes Jesus' body of loyal brothers as "not having spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish [i.e., `PERFECT']" - (:27). He then tells us that "no man ever hated his OWN FLESH; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, EVEN AS CHRIST ALSO THE CHURCH; BECAUSE WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY [his `OWN FLESH']." - (:29,30 ASV - compare KJV - "body", "flesh", and "bones".)

In explaining this great, mysterious oneness of Christ's body, Paul specifically uses the example (which trinitarians well know is descriptive of the plural oneness, "echad", of their three-in-one God): a man shall "cleave to his wife; and the two SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH. This mystery is great: BUT I SPEAK IN REGARD OF CHRIST AND OF THE CHURCH [his body of brothers who are one with Him or who have become `one flesh' with Him - compare 2 Cor. 11:2]." - Eph. 5:31,32 ASV.

Woman and man UNITED (echad - ONE flesh) are two distinct persons who, together, compose ONE! And Christ and His brothers, united IN THE VERY SAME WAY, make up one perfect body (or "flesh") that is truly Christ Himself! The great Mystery of the "Trinity" is finally completed - God is three "persons": God the Father (who BEGOT Jesus AND all His brothers in the beginning - Ro. 8:16,17; 1 John 3:1,2; 1 John 5:1,2), and God the Son (who is actually COMPOSED of all His brothers who are literally IN Him), and God the Holy Spirit (who is IN each and every one of the brothers of Jesus, actually MAKING them EQUALLY GOD). Truly God is MANY, but God is one!

 


We know that this BODY of Christ, His very "flesh", His BROTHERS (of whom He was only the FIRST - Ro. 8:29), is FULLY God in the very same sense that Jesus is fully God (for in Jesus DWELLS ALL THE FULNESS OF DEITY - Col. 2:9) since Ephesians 3:19 tells us that some (if not all) Christians will be filled with "ALL THE FULNESS OF GOD"! (Paul, guided by Holy Spirit, could not pray for something that was not in line with God's will and purpose and certainly would not incorporate it into the God-inspired Holy Scriptures otherwise.) This mystery-truth is further explained at Eph. 1:22,23 - "the Church [Christ's brothers], which is his [Christ's] BODY, the FULNESS OF HIM [Who is also GOD] that filleth all in all." His brothers have the FULNESS of GOD and are the FULNESS of Christ (who is also God). There could be no clearer statement that all those Christians really are God!

As Romans 8:29 tells us, "Those whom God had already chosen he had also set apart TO BECOME LIKE HIS SON [who we know is fully God] so that the Son would be the first AMONG MANY BROTHERS." - TEV.

In fact, we even find the Holy Scriptures plainly saying that CHRISTIANS belong to the same RACE or KIND as God!

Yes, many trinitarian scholars, realizing the literal meaning of genos (often translated "begotten") as "kind" or "race", interpret John 1:18 as "Only Son" (or even the "only Son who is of the God `kind'") rather than "only-begottenGod" or "only-begotten Son". This, they say, shows the Son IS God because he is of that "kind" or "race" (genos).

But to expand this understanding properly, notice Acts 17:28,29. Here genos is applied TO CHRISTIANS. When we use the proper, literal meaning for genos at Acts 17:28,29 (as at John 1:18), we can see the Great Mystery again being unveiled for us: Christians also are (like Jesus) of the "God-KIND" or of the "God-RACE"! - see any New Testament Greek-English Interlinear at Acts 17:28,29 (genos).

The New Testament word ek or ex (meaning "out of") is used for offspring, naturally-born children. For example, "They have COME OUT OF [ek] the loins of Abraham" (Heb. 7:5). And Matt. 1:16 shows Jesus as being literally "out of" (ek) Mary. Therefore, it is very clear that true Christians, the Sons of God, are of the God-kind when scripture tells us "We know that we are ek ['out of'] God." - 1 John 5:19. John 1:13 even proves that these Sons of God were actually BORN "out of" (ek) God just as the Word, Jesus (their elder brother, the FIRSTborn) was!

Further proof can be found at Heb. 2:11,12. We are told here that Jesus and his followers are all from the same source ("out of - ex - one source"): "all have one ORIGIN" - RSV, Mo; "are of the same family" - NIV.

We also see from 2 Peter 1:4 that Christians actually "share the DIVINE NATURE" - NJB and The New Testament in the Language of Today, 1964 ed., Beck. Or as the NEB and REB put it: They "share in the VERY BEING OF GOD." - Compare NAB (1970 and 1991), TEV.

Of course this should come as no surprise to trinitarians who are familiar with the great Qualitative Rule of NT Greek grammar. This rule, used by such scholars as Philip B. Harner (see the Journal of Biblical Literature, 1973, Vol. 92, pp.75-87), proves that John 1:1 truly describes Jesus as being equally God! This rule states that when the anarthrous (without the definite article) predicate noun comes BEFORE its verb (as at John 1:1 - "god was the word"), then that predicate noun is QUALITATIVE. That is, it has the very ESSENCE of the word and applies it to the subject of that sentence. Therefore, the very highest essence of the word "god" (which must be "God Himself") must be applied to the subject ("the Word" or Jesus) since the predicate noun "god" without the definite article comes before its verb at John 1:1.

This very same rule was used by Jesus at John 10:34 when he figuratively described those members of New Israel who would be appointed Judges by God (1 Cor. 6:2,3 - but compare John 8:50, Ps. 75:7). Yes, Jesus chose to use the Qualitative Rule when he said, "I said `gods you are.'" Notice that the predicate noun "gods" without the definite article comes BEFORE its verb and therefore the subject "you" (those "Israelites" God appoints as judges) takes on the qualitative HIGHEST ESSENCE of "godship." In other words, "Israel" IS the Most High God. An infallible rule of New Testament Greek grammar proves the Godship of Christ's brothers!

The same Qualitative Rule when applied to the already extremely significant "he who is joined to the Lord is ONE SPIRIT" (1 Cor. 6:17) shows the Christian brothers of Jesus to be God the Holy Spirit!
And again the Qualitative Rule shows this great truth at Gal. 3:26 ("for IN Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith" - RSV) where the predicate noun "sons of God" comes before the verb in the original NT Greek - cf. 1 John 3:2. So Christians share the HIGHEST ESSENCE of the term "Son of God" and are therefore equal to the Son of God himself.



As we all know, no man has been "perfect" except the GOD-Man, Jesus. He was perfect BECAUSE HE IS GOD! But, as we have already seen, the very BODY of that God-Man, Christ, (all his brothers) is also PERFECT. - Eph. 5:27. This is shown also by Jesus at John 17:22,23: "That they may be ONE, even as we are one: I IN them, and thou in me, that they may be made PERFECT in one." (Also see Matt. 5:48, Phil. 2:15) - but ONLY GOD can be PERFECT!

Obviously Christ's many brothers are to be WORSHIPED as He is. They are equally God with Jesus and, therefore, deserve worship. But as we know, ONLY God is to be WORSHIPED. Jesus knew this - Matt. 4:10. The angel of God understood this when John attempted to "worship [proskyneo] before his [the angel's] feet." - Rev. 22:8. Notice how other men will have to come to the true followers of Jesus, His brothers, the true "Israel" today: Men will come and "WORSHIP [proskyneo] BEFORE THEIR FEET." - Rev. 3:9. We see a similar statement in Isaiah: speaking of His faithful followers in the last days God says - "they [the rest of surviving mankind] ... shall WORSHIP [proskyneo in Greek Septuagint and shachah in Hebrew OT] YOU and PRAY [proseuchomai in Sept. and palal in Heb.] TO YOU: BECAUSE GOD IS IN [ev - Sept.] YOU; and there is NO GOD BESIDE YOU" - Is. 45:14 Septuagint, Zondervan Publishing House, 1980 printing. (KJV also translates "God is IN you," and JB says "they will PRAY TO YOU".)

Since people are to "Worship only God," and since Christ's brothers (His body, the `Church') are to receive WORSHIP, then, they ARE GOD!



Only God is OMNISCIENT (or all-knowing). This is one of the "UNTRANSFERRABLE, metaphysical attributes of God" according to many orthodox trinitarians. By this we are able to positively identify the Body of Christ (Jesus' brothers) as True God. As John declared to his fellow Christians: "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and YE KNOW ALL THINGS." - 1 John 2:20.

Paul also acknowledged this truth about Jesus' brothers being FULLY GOD: "Ye also are full of goodness [but only God is GOOD], FILLED WITH ALL KNOWLEDGE [OMNISCIENT]..." - Ro. 15:14. But ONLY GOD is all-knowing!

An example of this omniscience was displayed by the Apostles. Ananias told Peter and the Apostles that he had laid ALL the money he had received for his property at their feet. Peter (since all the Sons of God are ALL-KNOWING) KNEW Ananias was lying to them. And to reaffirm that the brothers of Jesus are equally God with Him, Peter said to Ananias who had lied TO THE APOSTLES, "thou hast not lied unto [mere] men, BUT UNTO GOD." - Acts 5:4. Yes, Peter told Ananias that it was no use lying unto the brothers of Christ because they were ALL-KNOWING (omniscient) and, therefore, not mere men but TRULY GOD! Remember that such omniscience is an UNTRANSFERABLE quality of GOD ALONE!

This is reminiscent of Jesus' statement at Luke 10:16. He said to the 70 Christians he sent forth: "The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects the One who sent me." (Or, "You haven't rejected MEN, you have rejected GOD.") Here, then, Jesus Himself declares that His Christian brothers are truly God with His Father and Him! (Compare Matt. 25:40.)

As certain trinitarians have pointed out: ONLY God is omnipotent (ALmighty or ALL powerful). This is one of the "UNTRANSFERABLE, metaphysical attributes of GOD alone." Surely it would be blasphemous for the Apostle Paul to pray for this "UNTRANSFERABLE attribute of God" to be TRANSFERRED to Jesus' brothers unless they too WERE GOD! But see Col. 1:11 - Paul prays that the faithful brothers be "strengthened with ALL MIGHT." Paul knows that ONLY God can receive this UNTRANSFERABLE attribute! There is only one possible conclusion: the brothers of Christ ARE GOD.

Another UNTRANSFERABLE attribute of God alone is that of OMNIPRESENCE (being everywhere simultaneously). But notice the OMNIPRESENCE of the brothers of Jesus: "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them which shall believe on me through their word; (21) THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE; as thou, Father, art IN me, and I IN thee, that THEY MAY ALSO BE ONE IN
US... (22) And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that THEY MAY BE ONE EVEN AS WE ARE ONE: (23) I IN them, and thou IN me, that they may be made PERFECT in one." - John 17:20-23 KJV.

Notice not only their ONENESS with God, but their being IN the Father and IN the Son! Jesus and the Father are known to be omnipresent by their being IN others. So, too, are the Sons of God! "Ye are IN our hearts to...LIVE TOGETHER." - 2 Cor. 7:3 (compare 1 Thess. 2:17). And Paul describes himself as being absent in body from his Corinthian brothers "BUT PRESENT IN SPIRIT"! - a clear description of OMNIPRESENCE - 1 Cor. 5:3. Notice how this untransferable quality of God alone is displayed by the brothers in this verse: "and whether one member [of the body of Christ] suffereth, ALL the members suffer with it." - 1 Cor. 12:26. Clear omnipresence is shown when one of Christ's brothers in Rome (or anywhere else) stubs his toe and Christians in Canada (and everywhere else) wince in sympathetic pain!

If God owns ALL THINGS (as He must) and Jesus owns all things (except the Father Himself) and this makes Jesus equally God - 1 Cor. 15:27 - then we see that true "Israelites" (Jesus' Christian brothers) are also equally God: Writing to the Corinthian brothers, Paul says - "Therefore let no man GLORY in men. For ALL THINGS ARE YOURS." - 1 Cor. 3:21.

Yes, Christ's brothers, his own "flesh", own ALL THINGS with him and, therefore, they must also BE GOD! Notice that Paul also recognizes that GLORY belongs to God alone. He even commands: "let no MAN glory in MEN." - 1 Cor. 3:21 KJV. So, when he told his brothers: "ye are our GLORY and joy" - 1 Thess. 2:20 - he clearly stated their (and his) GODHOOD! As we know, God shares his GLORY with no one else - Is. 42:8. But, of course, Jesus shares the Father's glory (Jn 17:22), and, therefore, this makes him God, also. But his brothers also share that GLORY from the Father (Jn 17:22) and, therefore, they too MUST BE GOD!

This is also stated by Peter at 1 Peter 5:10 - "God...hath called us unto his eternal GLORY by Christ Jesus," or as the Living Bible puts it: "God...will give you HIS eternal GLORY." Surely, if God will not share his glory with ANYONE ELSE, then those persons God gives his glory to MUST BE GOD HIMSELF! Ro. 8:30 tells us, "And so those whom God set apart [Jesus' BODY - his brothers], he called...and HE SHARED HIS GLORY WITH THEM." - GNB.

Paul not only calls his brothers (the other Sons of God) "the GLORY of God," but also the very "IMAGE of God" - 1 Cor. 11:7, "[man] is the IMAGE and glory of God." This is the very same description by which we know Jesus is God: "Christ, who is the IMAGE of God" - 2 Cor. 4:4. Of course Christ's BODY (his brothers who make up his very ONE "flesh") is the same image of God as Christ himself: They are one and the same God

We know for a CERTAINTY that ONLY God can FORGIVE (aphiemi) sins - Mark 2:7. Since Jesus was able to FORGIVE (aphiemi) sins, he is God! Since his brothers are also able to FORGIVE (aphiemi) sins, they too MUST BE GOD! - "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive Holy Spirit [and thereby become God]. If you FORGIVE [aphiemi] the sins of any, THEY ARE FORGIVEN.'" - John 20:21-23 RSV. ONLY God can FORGIVE SINS!! Jesus' body of brothers MUST BE GOD!

We know there is ONLY ONE SAVIOR : Jehovah God - Is. 43:11. But Jesus also SAVES men: John 12:47 ("save" - soso) and Matt. 1:21 ("shall save" - sosei) so he must be equally Jehovah God! But notice Jesus' brothers (the rest of the Sons of God) also SAVE men: 1 Cor. 9:22 ("save" - soso) and James 5:20 ("shall save" - sosei). THEREFORE THEY ARE ALSO EQUALLY JEHOVAH GOD!

Jehovah God, of course, is "The Light" - Is. 60:20; Ps. 27:1. And since Jesus is a part of the Godhead that is Jehovah, he too is "The Light" - John 8:12 (refers to Is. 49:6). But we can also see that Jesus' brothers, being Jesus' very BODY and therefore also part of the Godhead that is Jehovah, are also "The Light" - Acts 13:47 (which, significantly, ALSO refers to Is.49:6); Matt. 5:14. This understanding is reinforced by the parallel description of "the Lamp." Jehovah is the Lamp. - 2 Sam. 22:29. But so is one of Jesus' followers: John the Baptist. - John 5:35, RSV.

Jeremiah 51:19 tells us: "The portion of JACOB is not like these: FOR HE IS THE FORMER OF ALL THINGS; and Israel is the tribe of HIS inheritance; JEHOVAH OF HOSTS IS HIS NAME." - ASV. We are told very plainly here that not only did "Jacob" (or "Israel" as he became known) CREATE ALL THINGS, but that Israel's real name is JEHOVAH!!

Yes, God (actually COMPOSED of the Father and his "Sons") formed all things. Those Christian men and women chosen by Him in this life were (and will be again) actually a PART OF HIM in the beginning and helped in the original creation (Job 38:4-7). As Paul tells us, "we are God's FELLOW WORKERS" - 1 Cor. 3:9, NIV, ASV, NEB.

And who is this "Israel" today? Christ's body, his brothers, the Sons of God! ("that the community of believers in Jesus, irrespective of their natural origin, is looked upon as the new ISRAEL throughout the NT is clear." - New Bible Dictionary, p. 541, 2nd ed., 1984, Tyndale House Publ.) Christ's brothers, then, according to Jeremiah, ARE Jehovah God! No objective Bible student could possibly doubt such clear, irrefutable proof!

For further proof that "Israel" is God: The prophet Samuel told Saul, "God is with you" - 1 Sam. 10:7. But now notice the NAME of that God who was "with Saul": "ISRAEL who was with Saul" - 1 Sam. 14:21. See NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament, v.2, p.192 for the actual, literal, honest translation. It literally says "Israel" (singular) was WITH Saul. But as we well know, the man Israel (or Jacob) had been dead long before Saul was even born! So we then understand that Samuel is declaring that spiritual "Israel" (or Jesus' pre-existent brothers, his "body") made up the "God
who was with Saul".

Incidentally, the plural-unity of the "God of Israel" ("God composed of Israel" - see Luke 1:68) is shown by the PLURAL word "names" of the 12 tribes of the spiritual Israel taking the SINGULAR verb "is" (estin) at Rev. 21:12.



As we all know, "Israel" refers to a single person (Jacob) OR it refers to a COMPOSITE BODY of individuals who actually sprang from the loins of that man and which is composed, then, of the "SONS of Israel". So, in its sense of PLURAL UNITY "Israel" and the "Sons of Israel" were different terms for that very same COMPOSITE BODY. It is easy to see, then, that just as all the "SONS of Israel" make up the composite "Israel" so too the "SONS of God" actually make up the composite "God"!

The Sons of God were with God in the beginning. "When [Jehovah] laid the foundations of the earth" (Job 38:4) .... "ALL the SONS OF GOD shouted for joy." - Job 38:7. Who were these Sons of God who were WITH GOD in the BEGINNING? - "For IN Christ Jesus YOU ARE ALL SONS OF GOD" - Gal. 3:26, ASV, RSV, NASB, NIV, NEB, REB, MLB, CBW, AT, TEV. Remember, "He chose us IN Him BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, that we should be holy and without blemish." - Eph. 1:4 ASV. Yes, IN THE BEGINNING the Word was WITH GOD and the Word WAS GOD. (John 1:1). As Jesus declared: "Ye have been WITH ME from the BEGINNING" - Jn 15:27. Yes, the Word (Jesus) was COMPOSED of "all the Sons of God who shouted for Joy" IN THE BEGINNING. They all made up the spirit BODY of Jesus, united into "one flesh" - "for IN Christ you are all SONS OF GOD." - Gal. 3:26. (And BROTHERS of Jesus - Ro. 8:29, Matt. 25:40, Heb. 2:11,12,17.)

Notice how Paul (as God) can urge other Christians "as MY BELOVED CHILDREN [Sons of God]" to "be IMITATORS OF ME" - 1 Cor. 4:14,16 RSV. So when he later restates this same command as, "be IMITATORS of GOD as BELOVED CHILDREN [Sons of God]" - Eph. 5:1 RSV - it is obvious that he is declaring his own (and his developing "SONS") Godhood! He further stresses his equality with God at Gal. 1:24 where the inspired text reads literally: "They were glorifying the God in me." - cf. KJV.

The Sons of God being IN (composing his very being, his "body") Jesus FROM THE VERY BEGINNING shows that they, too, MUST share his very eternal SELF-EXISTENCE. As trinitarians point out, eternalness is one of the "UNTRANSFERABLE attributes of God". And we see ALL the Sons of God (actually composing the BODY of the Word) in the VERY BEGINNING. We see the same for Jesus' brothers at Luke 1:2, "Even as they declared them unto us, which FROM THE BEGINNING were eyewitnesses, and ministers of THE WORD." And Paul says: "because God hath FROM THE BEGINNING chosen you to salvation..." - 2 Thess. 2:13. Since eternalness is one of the UNTRANSFERABLE attributes of God, and since Jesus is eternal: Jesus MUST be God. And since his BODY (his brothers, the Sons of God) is eternal, his brothers MUST be God! - John writes to his brothers: "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that YE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE." - 1 John 5:13.

What could be more obvious than the fact that if JESUS has eternal life, his very own BODY, his mysterious "one flesh" would also have to have eternal life? And since this is how we can know God, by his UNTRANSFERRABLE attributes, then the Sons of God, like their elder brother, the Son of God, are ALL ETERNAL, ALL GOD!



Also showing the eternalness and SELF-EXISTENCE (another "untransferable attribute of God ALONE") is a statement by Paul. Paul knew extremely well that Jehovah had identified himself for all time (and simultaneously defined himself as ETERNALLY SELF-EXISTENT) by saying at Ex. 3:14: "I AM WHO I AM" (RSV, NASB, NIV) or, more likely, "I AM WHAT I AM" (RSV, NRSV, and Living Bible footnotes). So Paul (knowing exactly what his words would mean to his brothers who were equally well-versed in the Holy Scriptures) explains that he is the least of those sent forth by Jesus (15:9) and shows that they must ALL, therefore, be eternally God (and by definition, self-existent) when he claimed for himself (and his brothers) that clear, eternal title of Jehovah God: "I AM WHAT I AM" - 1 Cor. 15:10. Yes, Paul has claimed the PRECISE Name of God (which also signifies his eternalness and SELF-EXISTENCE) and applied it to himself as one of the very "least" ones of the body of Christ (15:9)!
The Son, being God, has God's AUTHORITY
. His faithful Christians have THE SAME AUTHORITY. "To those who win the victory ... I will give the SAME AUTHORITY which I have received from my Father." - Rev. 2:26,27 TEV. If Christ's brothers have the SAME AUTHORITY as God (Jesus), they must also BE GOD!

We know that "no MAN hath seen God at any time" - John 1:18. And yet we know that the Sons of God, Jesus' brothers in his "one flesh" or body, not only saw God when they were with him in the beginning but also SAW him after his resurrection on Earth! Since we know Jesus is equally God, and no MAN has seen God, then we know that his brothers who SAW him after his resurrection are not mere MEN, but also God. Their UNION with the Son and the Father makes them God and able to SEE the resurrected God - John 17:22.

This absolute union of the brothers with Christ is further shown at Eph. 2:6. Christ and the rest of the Sons of God are so inseparably ONE GOD that Paul can describe them as rising WITH and AS JESUS and assuming His very throne in heaven: Paul tells us that God "raised us up WITH Him [Jesus], and seated us WITH HIM in the heavenly places, IN Christ Jesus." - Eph. 2:6, NASB. Obviously Paul is describing the very BODY of Jesus as being COMPOSED OF HIS OTHER BROTHERS. John recognizes this great Mystery also when he declares: "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth IN him, and he IN God .... because AS HE IS, SO ARE WE" - 1 John 4:15, 17. Yes, God lives IN his Sons, and, AS GOD IS, SO ARE THEY!!

We have already seen that the Sons of God were WITH God in the very beginning. Now we see that WHAT GOD IS, SO ARE THE SONS OF GOD (1 John 4:17). It is obvious, now that we know Jesus (or the Word) is actually COMPOSED OF all the Sons of God, that John is telling us at John 1:1 - "In the BEGINNING was the Word [all the Sons of God, Jesus' very own spirit body - Job 38:7] ... and what God was, the Word [ALL the Sons of God] was." Or as the New English Bible tells us: "When all things began, the Word already was...and what God was, the Word was" - John 1:1.)

Remember, "As God is, SO ARE THEY" (All the Sons of God) - 1 John 4:17, and "What God was, the Word was" - John 1:1 (NEB). The meanings are identical. The Word (God the Son) is really ALL the Sons of God!

So when John tells us that "we shall be LIKE him" (1 Jn 3:2), it is clear that these are part of the composite God. No one but God is "like God" - Is. 46:9.

REMEMBER, THESE EXAMPLES ARE MEANT TO BE RIDICULOUS - NO JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BELIEVES OR TEACHES SUCH A THING. BUT THEY ARE EXCELLENT EXAMPLES OF THE ONLY KIND OF "EVIDENCE" AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO ATTEMPT TO "PROVE" A TRINITY DOCTRINE!!

Jesus made it very clear that NO ONE is GOOD (agathos) EXCEPT GOD. - Mark 10:18. But see how one of the members of his body is described at Acts 11:24. Barnabas is a GOOD (agathos) person! If Jesus can say, when he was called a GOOD teacher, "Don't call me good (agathos) [unless you recognize me AS GOD] because ONLY GOD is GOOD!" (Mark 10:18), then, obviously, the inspired Bible writer is proclaiming at Acts 11:24 that Barnabas (as well as the rest of the brothers) IS GOD! Paul also clearly states this truth when he says to the brothers: "ye also are FULL OF GOODNESS, filled with all knowledge...." - Rom. 15:14. If NO ONE but God is good and Jesus' body of brothers is GOOD, then, obviously, the mysteriously united one body of JESUS AND HIS BROTHERS is also GOD!

Similarly, "Only God is HOLY [hosios]" - Rev. 15:4. But responsible ones in the body of Christ MUST BE HOLY [hosios] - Titus 1:8 (also see 1 Peter 2:9; Heb. 3:1). To make this even clearer, we find Peter reminding his fellow Christians that God has said about them: "You MUST be holy BECAUSE I AM HOLY." - 1 Pet. 1:16, TEV, 3rd ed., 1971; also Living Bible. Yes, only GOD is holy, and, therefore, God's chosen ones must also be holy in order to BE GOD!

1 Cor. 3:23 tells us, "ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." How superbly, unequivocally certain this makes the knowledge of the true God! Just as "Christ is God's" MUST mean (as every trinitarian must believe) that Christ is EQUALLY GOD, so the other matching half of the inspired PARALLEL statement ("ye [Christ's brothers] are Christ's") MUST mean that they are EQUALLY CHRIST. And, of course, BEING CHRIST makes them as equally GOD as he is! How beautifully, simply, and clearly stated! True Christians ARE God!!

But wait! An equally clearcut, plain comparison is found at 1 Cor. 11:3. How manifestly the truth shines forth in this splendidly revealing inspired writing! We KNOW that the woman and man are equal in nature. So when Paul says "the HEAD of the woman is the man" we see their absolute equality: They both make up one UNITED (echad) body ("one flesh"). The male is merely the "head" of that one body! In the very same breath Paul says "and the HEAD of Christ is God" - again, since we KNOW Christ is equally God (and we can see that this headship is compared to that of the man and woman - "united oneness"), we see the united "body" of the One God composed (in part) of Jesus! So it is, when we see the complete statement, the full COMPARISON, at 1 Cor. 11:3, we know that, just as the "HEAD of Christ is God" MUST mean Jesus is equally GOD in nature, and "the HEAD of the woman is man" makes her equally "man" in nature, then we know absolutely that "the head of every [Christian] man is Christ" makes "every [Christian] man" EQUALLY JESUS IN NATURE and, therefore, since Jesus IS GOD, they, too, are EQUALLY GOD IN NATURE!

We know that all true Christians are Christ Himself by Jesus' statement to them at Rev.2:27 where he quotes Ps. 2:9. Psalm 2:9 was spoken TO JESUS by the Father, but Jesus shows that it was spoken TO CHRISTIANS (Rev. 2:27)! Therefore, these Christians MUST actually make up the person (or body) of Jesus!

We find that same truth stated by Paul: The ONLY FOUNDATION (1 Cor. 3:10, 11) is Jesus alone! But "the foundation" of Eph. 2:20 is composed of Jesus AND HIS APOSTLES and PROPHETS. Therefore, the Apostles and Prophets (Jesus' brothers) also make up that same FOUNDATION which is Jesus ALONE. The Sons of God and The Son of God are one and together make up "God the Son."

The Apostle John clearly recognized and wrote about his absolute equality with God when he admitted that he, John, is not only the brother of those he wrote to but is also "the Alpha and Omega ... the Almighty." Yes, John speaking at Rev. 1:6-9 says Jesus "hath made us kings and priests .... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord ... the Almighty. I John, who ALSO [in addition to being the Lord, Alpha and Omega, the Almighty] am your brother and companion" - KJV.



Of course there are no clear, precise scriptural statements proving this "doctrine" of Christians being equally God (such as "God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son, who is Jesus AND ALL HIS MANY BROTHERS, are three `persons' who are equally God"). But the examples in this paper have shown the absolute NECESSITY for CLEAR, PRECISE statements PROVING the trinity, such as: "The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit are three persons who are equally God. These three are the One God and there are no others."

Psalm1 NWT(2013)

1 Happy is the man who does not walk according to the advice of the wicked
And does not stand on the path of sinners+
And does not sit in the seat of scoffers.+
 But his delight is in the law of Jehovah,+
And he reads His law in an undertone* day and night.+
 He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
A tree that produces fruit in its season,
The foliage of which does not wither.
And everything he does will succeed.+
 The wicked are not like that;
They are like the chaff that the wind blows away.
 That is why the wicked will not remain standing in the judgment;+
Nor will sinners remain standing in the assembly of the righteous.+
 For Jehovah is aware of the way of the righteous,+
But the way of the wicked will perish.+

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Make up your mind why don't you?

Find article here.


Walter Martin uses his version of this trinitarian "evidence" on pp. 69-70 of The Kingdom of the Cults (1985 ed.) to show that "Jesus ... was truly an incarnation of Jehovah":

"As recorded in the eighteenth chapter of Genesis, Abraham had three visitors. Two of them were angels (Genesis 19:1), but the third he addressed as Jehovah God, fourteen times! .... To further confuse the Witnesses' peculiar view of God as a solitary unit [only one person], Jesus Himself said concerning His Father, `... you have not at any time either heard his voice or seen his form ... for God is a Spirit ...' (John 4:24; 5:37). Now then, here is the evidence. Moses declares that God spoke face to face with Abraham (Gen. 18:26), and Jesus and John say, `No man hath seen God at any time.' But Jesus makes it clear that He is referring to the Father, and so does John [?]."

So, again, we find people in the Old Testament "seeing" God and the New Testament denying that any human has ever literally, physically seen God.

Martin then tells us that there is only one "solution to this dilemma": God the Father was in heaven while "God the Son" spoke face to face with Abraham (see the IMAGE study, p. 6 and f.n. #7). We already have seen another, more honest, "solution to this 'dilemma'" above. Now notice what Martin himself admits about this "dilemma" in a later place in this same book.

Martin tells us that the Mormon idea that the Father and the heavenly-resurrected Son are persons with bodies of flesh who can, therefore, be seen and touched by humans is totally false. He tells us that the angels in heaven are

" 'ministering spirits' (Hebrews 1:7), beings who have immaterial 'bodies' of spiritual substances and yet exist." - p. 205.

He then points out that God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son (before coming to the earth as Jesus Christ) had "immaterial bodies" of spirit - p. 206.

Martin continues (p. 207):

"The Mormon teaching that God was seen 'face to face' in the Old Testament (Exodus 33:9, 11, 23; Exodus 24:9-11; Isaiah 6:1, 5; Genesis 5:24; Genesis 6:5-9, etc.) is refuted on two counts, that of language and the science of comparative textual analysis (hermeneutics).

"From the standpoint of linguistics, all the references cited by the Mormons to prove 'that God has a physical body that could be observed' melt away in the light of God's expressed declaration, 'Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live' (Exodus 33:20).

"Exodus 33:11 (face to face) in the Hebrew is rendered `intimate' and in no sense is it opposed to verse 20. Similar expressions are utilized in Deuteronomy 5:4, while in Genesis 32:30 it is the angel of the Lord who speaks, not Jehovah himself. The Old Testament is filled with theophanies (literally, Godforms), instances where God spoke or revealed Himself in angelic manifestations...."

Isn't it strange that when he wants to defend a trinity idea, Martin can find only one explanation for God speaking face to face with someone: Jesus was God! And yet, when he needs a different understanding for a different purpose, he can see a different (and more honest in this case) explanation.

Notice that Martin claims that Jesus is equally God with the Father and that they both had immaterial spirit bodies during the time written about in the Old Testament. Having immaterial spirit bodies and being God, neither of them could have been seen by humans! However, if Jesus had had the same type of spirit body that the other sons of God (angels) had, and if he were not God, he could have temporarily assumed a body of flesh during a meeting with humans upon earth just as they did at various times in the Old Testament.

But God (whether father, son, "cousin," "uncle," "nephew," etc.) has never been seen by man - Jn 1:18; 1 Jn 4:12.

As Martin tells us,

"all the references cited ... to prove 'that God has a physical body that could be observed' melt away in the light of God's expressed declaration, 'Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live' (Exodus 33:20)."

Watchtower Society's commentary on 1st and 2nd kings

A reproduction of the Watchtower Society's article
 
KINGS, BOOKS OF
 
 
Books of the Holy Scriptures relating the history of Israel from the last days of King David until the release of King Jehoiachin from prison in Babylon.
Originally the two books of Kings comprised one roll called Kings (Heb., Mela·khim′), and in the Hebrew Bible today they are still counted as one book, the fourth in the section known as the Former Prophets. In the Greek Septuagint the Books of the Kings were called Third and Fourth Kingdoms, the Books of Samuel having been designated First and Second Kingdoms. In the Latin Vulgate these books were together known as the four books of Kings because Jerome preferred the name Regum (Kings), in harmony with the Hebrew title, to the literal translation of the Septuagint title Regnorum (Kingdoms). Division into two books in the Septuagint became expedient because the Greek translation with vowels required almost twice as much space as did Hebrew, in which no vowels were used until the second half of the first millennium of the Common Era. The division between Second Samuel and First Kings has not always been at the same place in the Greek versions. Lucian, for one, in his recension of the Septuagint, made the division so that First Kings commenced with what is 1 Kings 2:12 in our present-day Bibles.
Writing of the Books. Although the name of the writer of the books of Kings is not given in the two accounts, Scriptural indications and Jewish tradition point to Jeremiah. Many Hebrew words and expressions found in these two books appear elsewhere in the Bible only in Jeremiah’s prophecy. The books of Kings and the book of Jeremiah complement each other; events, as a rule, are briefly covered in one if they are fully described in the other. Absence of any mention of Jeremiah in the books of Kings, although he was a very prominent prophet, could be expected if Jeremiah was the writer, because his activities were detailed in the book bearing his name. The books of Kings tell of conditions in Jerusalem after the exile had begun, indicating that the writer had not been taken to Babylon, even as Jeremiah was not.—Jer 40:5, 6.
Some scholars see in the books of Kings what they consider to be evidence of the work of more than one writer or compiler. However, except for variation because of the sources used, it must be observed that the language, style, vocabulary, and grammar are uniform throughout.
First Kings covers a period of about 129 years, commencing with the final days of King David, about 1040 B.C.E., and running through to the death of Judean King Jehoshaphat in about 911 B.C.E. (1Ki 22:50) Second Kings begins with Ahaziah’s reign (c. 920 B.C.E.) and carries through to the end of the 37th year of Jehoiachin’s exile, 580 B.C.E., a period of about 340 years. (2Ki 1:1, 2; 25:27-30) Hence the combined accounts of the books of Kings cover about four and a half centuries of Hebrew history. As the events recorded therein include those up to 580 B.C.E., these books could not have been completed before this date, and because there is no mention of the termination of the Babylonian exile, they, as one roll, were undoubtedly finished before that time.
The place of writing for both books appears to have been, for the most part, Judah, because most of the source material would be available there. However, Second Kings was logically completed in Egypt, where Jeremiah was taken after the assassination of Gedaliah at Mizpah.—Jer 41:1-3; 43:5-8.
The books of Kings have always had a place in the Jewish canon and are accepted as canonical. There is good reason for this, because these books carry forward the development of the foremost Bible theme, the vindication of Jehovah’s sovereignty and the ultimate fulfillment of his purpose for the earth, by means of his Kingdom under Christ, the promised Seed. Moreover, three leading prophets, Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah, are given prominence, and their prophecies are shown to have had unerring fulfillments. Events recorded in the books of Kings are referred to and elucidated elsewhere in the Scriptures. Jesus refers to what is written in these books three times—regarding Solomon (Mt 6:29), the queen of the south (Mt 12:42; compare 1Ki 10:1-9), and the widow of Zarephath and Naaman (Lu 4:25-27; compare 1Ki 17:8-10; 2Ki 5:8-14). Paul mentions the account concerning Elijah and the 7,000 men who did not bend the knee to Baal. (Ro 11:2-4; compare 1Ki 19:14, 18.) James speaks of Elijah’s prayers for drought and rain. (Jas 5:17, 18; compare 1Ki 17:1; 18:45.) These references to the actions of individuals described in the books of Kings vouch for the canonicity of these writings.
The books of Kings were largely compiled from written sources, and the writer shows clearly that he referred to these outside sources for some of his information. He refers to “the book of the affairs of Solomon” (1Ki 11:41), “the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Judah” (1Ki 15:7, 23), and “the book of the affairs of the days of the kings of Israel” (1Ki 14:19; 16:14).
One of the oldest extant Hebrew manuscripts containing the books of Kings in full is dated 1008 C.E. The Vatican No. 1209 and the Alexandrine Manuscript contain the books of Kings (in Greek), but the Sinaitic Manuscript does not. Fragments of the books of Kings evidently dating from the B.C.E. period have been found in the Qumran caves.
The framework of these books shows that the writer or compiler gave pertinent facts about each king for the purpose of chronology and to reveal God’s estimate, favorable or unfavorable, of each king. The relationship of their reigns to the worship of Jehovah stands out as the most important factor. After considering the reign of Solomon, there is, with some exceptions, a general set pattern for describing each reign, as two parallel lines of history are interwoven. For the kings of Judah there is usually given first an introductory synchronism with the contemporaneous king of Israel, then the age of the king, the length of his reign, the place of rule, and the name and home of his mother, the latter being an item of interest and importance because at least some of the kings of Judah were polygamous. In concluding the account for each king, the source of the information, the burial of the king, and the name of his successor are given. Some of the same details are provided for each king of Israel, but the king’s age at the time of his accession and the name and home of his mother are not given. Information supplied in First and Second Kings has been very useful in the study of Bible chronology.—See CHRONOLOGY.
The books of Kings are more than just annals or a recital of events as in a chronicle. They report the facts of history with an explanation of their significance. Eliminated from the account, it seems, is anything that does not have direct bearing on the developing purpose of God and that does not illustrate the principles by which Jehovah deals with his people. The faults of Solomon and the other kings of Judah and Israel are not disguised but are related with the utmost candor.
Archaeological Evidence. The discovery of numerous artifacts has furnished certain confirmation that the books of Kings are historically and geographically accurate. Archaeology, as well as living proof today, confirms the existence of the cedar forests of Lebanon, from which Solomon obtained timbers for his building projects in Jerusalem. (1Ki 5:6; 7:2) Evidence of industrial activity has been found in the basin of the Jordan N of the Jabbok, where Succoth and Zarethan once stood.—1Ki 7:45, 46.
Shishak’s invasion of Judah in Rehoboam’s time (1Ki 14:25, 26) is confirmed by the Pharaoh’s own record on the walls of the temple of Karnak in Egypt. A black limestone obelisk of Assyrian King Shalmaneser III found at Nimrud in 1846 depicts perhaps an emissary of Jehu bowing before Shalmaneser, an incident that, though not mentioned in the books of Kings, adds testimony to the historicity of Israel’s King Jehu. The extensive building works of Ahab, including “the house of ivory that he built” (1Ki 22:39), are well attested by the ruins found at Samaria.
The Moabite Stone relates some of the events involved in King Mesha’s revolt against Israel, giving the Moabite monarch’s version of what took place. (2Ki 3:4, 5) This alphabetic inscription also contains the Tetragrammaton.
The name Pekah is found in an annalistic text credited to Tiglath-pileser III. (2Ki 15:27) The campaign of Tiglath-pileser III against Israel is mentioned in his royal annals and in an Assyrian building inscription. (2Ki 15:29) The name Hoshea has also been deciphered from inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser’s campaign.—2Ki 15:30; Ancient Near Eastern Texts, edited by J. Pritchard, 1974, pp. 282-284.
While some of Assyrian King Sennacherib’s engagements are mentioned in his annals, the angelic destruction of his army of 185,000 when it threatened Jerusalem is not mentioned (2Ki 19:35), and we would not expect to find in his boastful records an account of this overwhelming setback. Notable archaeological confirmation of the last statement in the books of Kings has been found in cuneiform tablets excavated at Babylon. These indicate that Jaʼukinu (Jehoiachin) was imprisoned in Babylon and mention that he was provided with rations from the royal treasury.—2Ki 25:30; Ancient Near Eastern Texts, p. 308.
Fulfillments of Prophecy. The books of Kings contain various prophecies and point to striking fulfillments. For example, 1 Kings 2:27 shows the fulfillment of Jehovah’s word against the house of Eli. (1Sa 2:31-36; 3:11-14) Prophecies regarding Ahab and his house were fulfilled. (Compare 1Ki 21:19-21 with 1Ki 22:38 and 2Ki 10:17.) What was foretold concerning Jezebel and her remains came true. (Compare 1Ki 21:23 with 2Ki 9:30-36.) And the facts of history confirm the veracity of the prophesied destruction of Jerusalem.—2Ki 21:13.
Among the many points highlighted in the books of Kings is the importance of adherence to Jehovah’s requirements and the dire consequences of ignoring his just laws. The two books of Kings forcefully verify the predicted consequences of both obedience and disobedience to Jehovah God.
[Box on page 171]
HIGHLIGHTS OF FIRST KINGS
  A concise summary of the history of both the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel from the last days of David until the death of Jehoshaphat
  Originally the first book of Kings was part of one scroll with Second Kings
Solomon is known for outstanding wisdom at the start of his rule, but he ends up in apostasy
  Nathan, by decisive action, blocks Adonijah’s attempt to be king in Israel; Solomon is enthroned (1Ki 1:5–2:12)
  Asked by Jehovah what he desires, Solomon requests wisdom; he is additionally granted riches and glory (3:5-15)
  Divinely given wisdom is evident in Solomon’s handling of the case of two prostitutes, each claiming to be the mother of the same baby boy (3:16-28)
  King Solomon and Israel under his rule prosper; the king’s unparalleled wisdom is world famous (4:1-34; 10:14-29)
  Solomon builds Jehovah’s temple and later a palace complex; then all the older men of Israel gather for the inauguration (5:1–8:66)
  Jehovah sanctifies the temple, assures Solomon of permanence of the royal line, but warns against unfaithfulness (9:1-9)
  The queen of Sheba comes to see Solomon’s wisdom and prosperity for herself (10:1-13)
  In old age, Solomon is influenced by his many foreign wives and goes after foreign gods (11:1-8)
The nation is split in two; calf worship is instituted to prevent those in the northern kingdom from going up to Jerusalem
  Because of Solomon’s apostasy, Jehovah foretells division of the nation (11:11-13)
  After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam threatens to impose a heavier yoke on the people; ten tribes revolt and make Jeroboam king (12:1-20)
  Jeroboam establishes worship of golden calves in the northern kingdom to prevent his subjects from going to Jerusalem for worship and possibly wanting to reunite the kingdom (12:26-33)
The southern kingdom, Judah, has both good kings and bad ones
  Rehoboam and Abijam after him allow detestable false worship (14:21-24; 15:1-3)
  Abijam’s son Asa and his son Jehoshaphat actively promote true worship (15:9-15; 22:41-43)
The northern kingdom, Israel, is marred by power struggles, assassinations, and idolatry
  Jeroboam’s son Nadab becomes king; Baasha assassinates him and seizes the throne (15:25-30)
  Baasha’s son Elah succeeds to the throne and is assassinated by Zimri; Zimri commits suicide when facing defeat by Omri (16:6-20)
  Omri’s victory leads to civil war; Omri finally triumphs, becomes king, and later builds Samaria; his sins are even worse than those of earlier kings (16:21-28)
  Ahab becomes king and marries the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; he introduces Baal worship into Israel (16:29-33)
Wars between Judah and Israel end with an alliance
  Wars take place between Jeroboam and both Rehoboam and Abijam; Baasha fights against Asa (15:6, 7, 16-22)
  Jehoshaphat makes an alliance with Ahab (22:1-4, 44)
  Jehoshaphat and Ahab battle together against Ramoth-gilead; Ahab is killed (22:29-40)
Prophetic activity in Israel and Judah
  Ahijah foretells ripping of ten tribes away from David’s house; later he proclaims Jehovah’s judgment against Jeroboam (11:29-39; 14:7-16)
  Shemaiah conveys Jehovah’s word that Rehoboam and his subjects should not fight against the rebellious ten tribes (12:22-24)
  A man of God announces Jehovah’s judgment against the altar for calf worship at Bethel (13:1-3)
  Jehu the son of Hanani pronounces Jehovah’s judgment against Baasha (16:1-4)
  Elijah foretells a prolonged drought in Israel; during the drought, he miraculously extends the food supply of a widow and resurrects her son (17:1-24)
  Elijah proposes a test on Mount Carmel to determine who is the true God; when Jehovah is proved true, the Baal prophets are killed; Elijah flees for his life from Ahab’s wife Jezebel, but Jehovah sends Elijah to anoint Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha (18:17–19:21)
  Micaiah foretells Ahab’s defeat in battle (22:13-28)
[Box on page 172]
HIGHLIGHTS OF SECOND KINGS
  Continuation of the history of Judah and of Israel begun in First Kings; it reaches to the destruction of Samaria and then of Jerusalem, due to unfaithfulness
  The writing of it was likely completed in Egypt about 27 years after Jerusalem’s destruction by Babylon
After Elijah, Elisha serves as Jehovah’s prophet
  Elijah predicts Ahaziah’s death; he also calls down fire upon two disrespectful military chiefs and their companies of 50 sent to get the prophet (2Ki 1:2-17)
  Elijah is taken away in a windstorm; Elisha receives his official garment (2:1-13)
  Elisha divides the Jordan and heals water in Jericho; his inspired advice saves the allied armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom from perishing for lack of water and results in defeat of Moabites; he increases a widow’s oil supply, resurrects a Shunammite woman’s son, renders poisonous stew harmless, multiplies a gift of bread and grain, heals Naaman of leprosy, announces that Naaman’s leprosy would come upon greedy Gehazi and his offspring, and causes a borrowed axhead to float (2:14–6:7)
  Elisha warns the king of Israel in advance of surprise attacks by the Syrians; a Syrian force comes to seize him but is stricken with temporary mental blindness; the Syrians besiege Samaria, and Elijah is blamed for the resulting famine; he foretells the end of the famine (6:8–7:2)
  The commission given to Elijah is completed when Elisha tells Hazael that he will become king of Syria and sends a messenger to anoint Jehu as king over Israel (8:7-13; 9:1-13)
  Jehu acts against Ahab’s house, eradicating Baal worship from Israel (9:14–10:28)
  Elisha, on his deathbed, is visited by Jehu’s grandson King Jehoash; he foretells three victories over Syria (13:14-19)
Israel’s disrespect for Jehovah leads to exile in Assyria
  The calf worship started by Jeroboam continues during the reigns of Jehu and his offspring—Jehoahaz, Jehoash, Jeroboam II, and Zechariah (10:29, 31; 13:6, 10, 11; 14:23, 24; 15:8, 9)
  During Israel’s final days, King Zechariah is assassinated by Shallum, Shallum by Menahem, Menahem’s son Pekahiah by Pekah, and Pekah by Hoshea (15:8-30)
  During Pekah’s reign, Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria, exiles many Israelites; in the ninth year of Hoshea, Samaria is destroyed and Israel is taken into exile because of disrespecting Jehovah; Israel’s territory is populated by other peoples (15:29; 17:1-41)
Religious reforms in Judah bring no lasting change; Babylon destroys Jerusalem and takes God’s people into exile
  Jehoram of Judah marries Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel; Jehoram apostatizes, as does his son Ahaziah after him (8:16-27)
  When Ahaziah dies, Athaliah tries to kill off the seed of David so that she herself can rule; Jehoash, son of Ahaziah, is rescued by his aunt and eventually made king; Athaliah is killed (11:1-16)
  As long as High Priest Jehoiada lives and advises him, Jehoash restores true worship, but ‘sacrificing on the high places’ persists during his reign and that of his successors—Amaziah, Azariah (Uzziah), and Jotham (12:1-16; 14:1-4; 15:1-4, 32-35)
  Jotham’s son Ahaz practices idolatry; Ahaz’ son Hezekiah makes good reforms, but these are undone by the subsequent bad reigns of Manasseh and Amon (16:1-4; 18:1-6; 21:1-22)
  Amon’s son Josiah undertakes firm measures to rid the land of idolatry; he is killed in a battle with Pharaoh Nechoh (22:1–23:30)
  Judah’s last four kings are unfaithful: Josiah’s son Jehoahaz dies in captivity in Egypt; Jehoahaz’ brother Jehoiakim reigns after him; Jehoiakim’s  son and successor Jehoiachin is carried into Babylonian exile; Jehoiakim’s brother Zedekiah reigns until Jerusalem is conquered by the Babylonians and most survivors of the conquest are taken into exile (23:31–25:21)

Atheists need to get their story straight.



No end in sight VII