The Trinity contradicts the Biblical record of how God reveals himself and his Messiah
June 28th, 2008 by Ron S.
With all the trinity discussion that has been going on here at kingdomready.org, I thought I’d take time out to write an article on few of the issues I find with the trinity. Now I have a host of them – some of which have been brought up in the comment debates going on here in the blogs and some others probably to follow. But I wanted to address a couple of particular issues in detail that really bug me about the trinity belief. So let’s get started.
The Trinity contradicts the Biblical record
of how God reveals himself and his Messiah
By Ron Shockley
1. God seen or not seen – in human form or not?
In the Hebrew Bible – the Tenach (know to Christians as the “Old Testament” – though I prefer “Original Testament”) God goes out of his way to say over and over that He is the one and only God of the universe and that He alone is responsible for all of creation. But God also reveals something else there and then confirms it later in the New Testament. God says that he CAN NOT be seen by man. In Exodus 33:20 God flat out tells Moses that “no man can see me and live”. Then in the Gospel of John we have collaborating texts like “No man hath seen God at any time…” (John 1:18) and “You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form” (John 5:37). And in 1st Timothy we have the added facts that God is “invisible” (1 Tim 1:17) and that He “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Tim 6:16).
Yet according to all records, Jesus was scene and heard by thousands of human beings and was perceived totally as a fellow human. How could Jesus be God in human form if God has made it abundantly clear that he can NOT be seen? Sure the typical Trinitarian response tends to be something along the lines of that since Jesus put on “human nature” that allowed him to be seen and heard just like a normal human being. So perhaps the more important, critical question here would be WHY? Why then would God state that he couldn’t be seen, yet then turn around and come down into human form TO BE SEEN? It seems totally illogical and contradictory.
The fact of this is amplified even further when one looks at the record of the events at Sinai. In Deuteronomy 4: we find God making the concise effort to tell the Israelites that they “saw no form” (verse 12), and that they needed to “watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a grave image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female” (verse 15 &16). Here God specifically went to the trouble to prohibit the Israelites from attempting to worship him in human form (or any form for that matter). Yet according to the Trinity belief, God turned right around and did this EXACT thing by appearing in human form as Jesus. Again this seems absurdly contradictory.
2. Messiah to be God or a Human Being?
When one looks at what the term “Messiah” actually means and what the Hebrew Scriptures expressed concerning the expectations of the Messiah, we see several nuggets of truth that also directly contradict the Trinity.
First the term Messiah is the English translation for the Hebrew word “Moshiach – which means “God’s anointed, or “the anointed one (of God)”. The term was used to describe anyone who was “anointed” with holy anointing oil (e.g. Israel’s Kings, prophets, & priests) to signify being chosen for a task ordained/authorized by God. And in a deeper eschatological sense, Messiah also stood for the comng of THE final “Moshiach” from the Davidic line who would user in the Messianic age and whose “kingship” would reign forever. But let’s go back and look at what is being said here. If we are to honestly examine the actual, basic definition of the word itself, clear logic demonstrates that if the Messiah is someone whom God “anoints”, then it is someone OTHER THAN God. This is a very simple concept that seems to be lost or ignored by those promoting the Trinity belief that Jesus is the Messiah who is also God. If the word “Messiah” is to have any true meaning at all either Jesus is God and is NOT the Messiah. Or Jesus is the Messiah who is someone other than God. There is no other option. It is totally absurd to say God “anoints” himself.
Then there’s the expectations regarding the Messiah. The Hebrew people have historically viewed (as Judaism still does to this day) the Messiah as someone that would be a real human being directly descended from the lineage of King David. And they have this view point because that is just what their Scriptures clearly describe.
The “Original” Testament starts on such a path with God giving a prophecy that one day an offspring of Adam & Eve would defeat the Serpent (Satan) in Genesis 3:15. Later in Deuteronomy 18:15 & 18, God promises to bring up a future prophet like Moses from among “their countrymen”. Isaiah 11 promises the Messiah will come out of the human line of Jesse and that God’s Spirit “will rest on him”. Isaiah 42:1 describes the Messiah as God’s “servant” His “chosen one” whom God places (anoints) his Spirit upon. In the book of Jeremiah the Messiah is declared to be “raised up” as David’s “righteous branch” (23:5) and that this “leader shall be one of them and their ruler shall come forth from their midst” (30:21). Of course it couldn’t be said any clearer than in 1st Chronicles 17:11-14, where God promises that the Messiah will be one of David’s “descendants” and “shall be of your sons”. Then we have the Messianic promises that David himself wrote in the book of Psalms. Starting in Psalm 2 saying that God’s anointed will be “begotten” at a point in time (2:7) and will be established from David’s “seed forever” (89:4). Psalm 89:27 has God making the Messiah “My first-born”. This doesn’t make sense if Jesus were God, how would God make himself his own first-born? And finally we come to Psalm 110. Here all doubts are erased and the precise declaration is provided that God’s anointed Messiah would be a human man and absolutely not God himself.
Psalm 110:1 is THE verse in the Original Testament that shows the clear distinction between God and the Messiah. It shows that there are TWO Lords. But one is the LORD God Almighty and the other is addressed with the honored but fully human title of Lord. No wonder it is the most quoted verse in the New Testament from the Hebrew Bible! To explain further, I’ll quote Sir Anthony Buzzard as he says this better than I ever could with:
“This verse was referred to the Messiah by the Pharisees and by Jesus. It tells us that the relationship between God and Jesus is that of Deity and non-Deity. The Messiah is called adoni (my lord) and in every one of its 195 occurrences adoni (my lord) means a superior who is not God. Adonai on the other hand refers exclusively to the One God in all of its 449 occurrences. Adonai is the title of Deity and adoni never designates Deity.
If the Messiah were called Adonai this would introduce “two Gods” into the Bible and would be polytheism. Psalm 110:1 should guard us all against supposing that there are two who are God. In fact the Messiah is the supreme human being and agent of the One God. Psalm 110:1 is the Bible’s master text for defining the Son of God in relation to the One God, his Father.” (from Anthony’s “Focus on the Kingdom” article entitled “Adonai and Adoni (Psalm 110:1)”).
3. The Logical Conclusion
The Biblical record is clear. The Messiah was to be a human being, a direct descendant of King David, a man from among his own countrymen of Israel. And God has said that He can not be seen, that He is invisible, and is not to be viewed as having any kind of human form. What does this tell us? Well unless you are forcing yourself to hold onto the post-Biblical creeds of man, the honest, logical, and common sense conclusion can only be that Jesus is NOT literally God himself. Jesus is just who God promised His Messiah to be, a special human MAN who would be brought into being at a point in time from the Hebrew people and “anointed” with God’s Spirit so that he could accomplish all the God wanted him to do. This is said perfectly several times in the following from the book of Acts.
Acts 2:22: “Jesus of Nazareth was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.”
Acts 10:38: “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Acts 17:31: “Because He has established a day on which He will judge the world with justice through a man he has appointed, and He has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead.“
Who is this ‘christian’ ‘jesus’?
Truth is the name ‘jesus’ was first imagined some
500 years, or so, ago! Truth is that the name ‘jesus’
was not spoken for some 1500 years after The
Messiah “ascended to His GOD and Father”.
And The Messiah’s GOD is The GOD of His Brethren
and The Messiah’s Father is The Father of His Brethren.
The Messiah, “ascended to His GOD” and was the
“first-born of many Brethren”, “The Beginning of The
Creation of The Only True GOD”.
The Messiah(‘christ’) is “the mediator between The
Only True GOD and man”.
The Messiah’s GOD given name when translated
into today’s english would be Joshua. Should not
The Son of The Only True GOD be called by The
Name given to Him by His Father and GOD? Yet
His exalted title is The Messiah, The Son of The
Living GOD, for as there is only One True GOD,
so also there is only One True Messiah, Yahshua
(Joshua in modern day english)The Son of GOD!
The Messiah testified, “I ascend to My GOD and
your GOD, to My Father and your Father”!
Truth also testifies that the name ‘jesus’ was “imag”ined
just prior to what ‘the god of this world’ and his ‘christianity’
declared to be the ‘reformation’. That also was some 500
years, or so, ago.
Prior to the ‘reformation’ there was no letter ‘j’ in the english
language! Indeed ‘catholicism’ was reformed, in the sense
of being restructured and made to appear differently. The
various ‘re-formed’ systems of religion were, and are, her
offspring! And they all bear the ‘mark’ of their ‘god’ ‘jesus’!
Either they name one head of their three headed pagan
‘god’ ‘jesus’ or they make the one they call ‘jesus’ their
‘god’. All are but harlot religions fornicating with ‘the
god of this world’ because they love this world, it’s things,
and their own lives in and of this evil, wicked world!
“The ONLY TRUE GOD”, HE Has No ‘god’!
“Truth” Tesifies:
“The Messiah is The Son of The Living GOD”!
“catholic/christian” lies:
‘jesus’ is ‘god’ or 1/3 of a ‘god’ or an angel or ????
“Truth” Tesifies:
“Love your enemies! Turn the other cheek”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
fight and war in the flesh! kill your enemies ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“This world is evil!” “Come Out of her, MY people”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
we can change this world and make it ‘better’ ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“The WHOLE world lies in wickedness”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
there are righteous nations, the usa and others ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“Love not the world or the things of this world”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
love this world and thank ‘god’ for it’s things ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“Pagans observe days, months and years”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
christmas, easter, halloween, ‘good’ friday, etc. ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“Serve The Only True GOD and HIM alone”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
serve family, country and their “imag”ined ‘god’ ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
GOD asks, “What building will you build unto ME”?
“catholic/christian” folklore:
various buildings dedicated to their “imag”ined ‘god’ ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“As The Messiah suffered so His Brethren will suffer”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
eat, drink, be merry, especially during x-mass season ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“GOD helps those who cry unto HIM for help”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
‘god’ helps those who help themselves ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“NO man has seen The Only True GOD”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
many saw their “imag”ined ‘god’ ‘jesus’ ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“GOD is Spirit and a Spirit has not flesh and bones”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
except for their “imag”ined ‘god’ ‘jesus’ that is ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“When you pray do so in private”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
pray aloud so that others might hear ;-(
“Truth” Tesifies:
“Swear not! Let your yes, be yes, your no, no”!
“catholic/christian” folklore:
put your hand on their ‘bible’ and swear to their ‘god’ ;-(
The Messiah testified, “That they might know YOU,
The ONLY TRUE GOD, and The Messiah, Whom YOU
have sent”!
The Messiah testified, “Love Your Enemies”!
Islam, Judaism, and that which calls herself ‘christianity’:
Religious systems of this world and all alike they are,
for they have fought and killed both near and far;
And then once a week or multiples times a day they pray,
and then as hypocrites begin each new day;
Days filled with deceit and lies,
for in their religious systems Truth cannot abide;
And so the fruit of death is born of their religious ways,
for life is but a pawn in the wicked game they play!
Multitudes have been seduced by ” the commandments
and doctrines of men and devils”! Theo’ry’logy has bound
the common people in the chains of “strong delusion”.
The Only True GOD has given HIS Call to all who are
held captive by this wicked, evil world and it’s seductive
religious systems, especially the one that calls herself
“christianity”.
“The mother of harlots”, “catholicism”, and her “protesting”
“christian” daughters, as well as today’s “judaism” and
“islam”, are but seductive harlots fornicating with ‘the god
of this world’!
They believe in, and are authors of, death ;-(
The Only True GOD would have us “set our affections on
things above”. HIS Children desire that which is eternal,
and have quit serving ‘time’ in the prison that is this wicked
world. HIS Children have heeded The Call to repent and:
“Come out of her, MY people”!
They have “Come out” of this wicked, evil world and it’s
systems of religion for they realize that “the WHOLE world
is under the control of the evil one”. (I John 5:19)
And a wicked, worldly “christianity” and “catholicism” are
reasons why “The Way of Truth is evil spoken of” ;-(
(II Peter 2:2)
Yet there is Hope!
For Miracles do happen!
Hope is there would be those who “set their affections on
things above”, Heavenly things, for they will quit serving
‘time’ in the prison that is this world! Worldly systems but
feed “the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride
of life” and such systems are of mankind’s “imag”ination,
and mankind’s “imag”ination is under the dominion of
“the father of lies”, he who is “the god of this world”, he
who is “d”evil spirit of darkness who genders but death,
destruction, perversion, and fear!
Heed GOD’s Call and “Come out of her, MY people”!
Experience Peace, in spite of the dis-ease(no-peace) that
is of this wicked world……. francisco
Francisco: “Truth is the name ‘jesus’ was first imagined some
500 years, or so, ago! Truth is that the name ‘jesus’
was not spoken for some 1500 years after The
Messiah “ascended to His GOD and Father”.”
Are you trying to say that there is something wrong with the name “Jesus”?
When was “Yahshua” first used?
The name Yehoshua is the same Hebrew root as Joshua and Jesus in English. In Greek it was Iesous, and the disciples had no problem with calling him by his Greek name. The differences in pronunciation are simply a matter of translating the same name into other languages. The modern English name Jesus means the same as the Greek and Hebrew roots. None of which has anything to do with the Trinity or the false doctrines promoted by either Roman Catholic or Protestant churches.
Greetings,
Over more than 35 years I have been given from the most high, biblical revelations pertaining to life’s questions.
The following I believe is of interest to all looking for ultimate truth.
Cordially,
Anton Hofman
The One God – Three in one?
(In plain sight – yet out of view)
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
So let us look up that record in heaven as stated. When considering the symbolic truths revealed by our sun the answer to the above question is made clear. For instance, can any-thing live on earth without the sun? Or can life on our planet be maintained without the sun?
If light is symbolic of ‘knowledge’ and it is – what is represented as having ‘total’ know-ledge? Not a person on our planet can deny that ‘only’ God qualifies as the one being sym-bolically represented by the sun’s attributes.
One sun – one God – or is there more to this?
Corroborating what is represented by our sun – the Bible states the following
in the book of Isaiah:
Isaiah 46:9-10 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none
else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall
stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Things declared from the beginning – but yet not revealed!
Some 700 years after Isaiah’s writing a man walked the earth who claimed to be the light of the world.
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world:
he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
life.
Why would any one make such an outlandish statement, knowing that ‘our sun’ is the light of the world, unless he was stating a symbolic truth, ‘declared from the beginning but not yet revealed’ – till then. When we note what else he said a more complete picture emerges.
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you,
The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what
things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise.
Sunlight is the ‘offspring’ of the sun.
Question: Can sunlight do anything but what it is directed to do by the sun?
We cannot go the sun, i.e. go to God. God comes to us by means of – His Son, i.e. Jesus Christ.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Every person in the world is exposed to sunlight, i.e. everyone has the same access to the Son of God.
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my
voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me.
Sunlight must be invited in, that is why we have windows – hence the Son of God must be invited in.
No one has seen the sun – it is hidden behind its light.
John 1:18 No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
Although one with the Father – they are not the same as clearly shown by this picture.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one. Can one imagine our sun without its light?
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
So what about those who do not recognize the Son of God? Consider carefully the following:
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes
to the Father, but by me.
Picture for a moment trying to reach the sun without going through its light – impossible, so also is it impossible as shown by this picture to come to God without His Son.
We cannot go to God – He comes to us by means of His Son – Jesus Christ.
While sunlight must be invited in – the sun’s heat has no such limitation and represents God’s drawing love.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and
I will raise him up at the last day.
Note that our heavenly Father honours our free will by drawing – not forcing His will upon mankind.
It should not surprise any one that God, i.e. three in one, placed His identity symbolical-ly ‘front center’ of His creation as symbols are an internationally understood language. What is surprising that this plain truth has escaped us for so long by so many. One expla-nation may be that instead of looking up we have employed archaeologists.
More can be said about the subject but this should suffice to open the eyes of all who can see.
By: Anton Hofman – http://www.antonhofman.com
Anton,
You were making sense for the most part, up to a point. I thought your analogy of the sun and its light was a good illustration. As the light, Jesus communicates God to mankind, and yet just as the light is not the sun, Jesus is not God. But then you turned around and said “God, i.e. three in one…” which goes against everything you were saying. As has been abundantly shown on these threads, there is nothing in the Bible that unequivocally portrays God as “three in one.”
The only passage of Scripture that even comes close is the one you referred to at the beginning of your post, 1 John 5:7. “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” But as any good Bible student knows, these words were added – they are a well-known corruption of the text. The error has been corrected in most modern Bibles. The NASB, for example, renders verses 7 an 8 as follows: “For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”
So, did I misunderstand you, or are you in fact saying that your analogy fits with the idea of God being “three in one”?
Even if 1 John 5:7 is a later addition, it still does not prove a three-person trinity consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! It says the Word, not the Son, which seems to be consistent with John 1:1.
Ron,
To add to your first point, Paul says that Jesus is the image of the “invisible God” which is a clear distinction between Jesus and God (not Jesus and the Father, I might add). If I am not mistaken, image in this sense has the meaning of what is seen in a mirror (the mirrors in those days were polished metal, I think, meaning that the image was very poor). An image is not the thing that it represents. If I show you a picture of my family, only a trinitarian would think that that was actually my family. It is an image or representation of my family. I think it goes to far to say that Jesus “looks like” God; rather, that Jesus is the image of God in the same way that an image in a mirror is the thing that it reflects.
The Bible does a pretty good job of self-definition, if we would let it do so.