SPELLING EDITED U-18. Matthew 28:19-PROVES God is a TRINITY God! Christians that believe and teach the doctrine of the Trinity use verses in the Bible such as Matthew 28:19 and Isaiah 6:3 where patterns of THREE are found. So then anywhere in the Bible that Almighty God the Father, his Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are found in the SAME verse of Scripture or in the same passage of Scripture then those verses are used as a “proof text” to try and support the doctrine of the Trinity. But what some Trinitarian Christians fail to see is that every one of those verses and passages of Scripture must be INTERPRETED to mean that God is a Trinity Godhead made up of three separate persons in one God. So the question is “Do these verses clearly and plainly teach us that Almighty God is a TRINITY Godhead?” Let us begin this study in God's word by reading this verse in question, Matthew 28:19, which is AFTER Jesus was given his new IMMORTAL body of flesh and bone and right before his ASCENSION into heaven.
Here is Matthew 28:16-20.
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. (Or where Jesus had made an appointment to meet them in a certain place being the Mount of Olives where Jesus ascended into heaven in their sight as they watch him being received into the clouds out of sight) 17. And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. (Those who teach the doctrine of the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus during the days of his FLESH use verses like this verse to try and support their teaching that Jesus HIMSELF IS THE one true and only ALMIGHTY God Yahweh. Both Trinitarian Christians and Oneness Christians argue that ONLY God is to be WORSHIPED. Now, BEFORE Jesus was GLORIFIED by his Father and HIGHLY EXALTED and GIVEN a NAME above every name Jesus did indeed teach his disciples to worship Almighty God alone. But AFTER Jesus was raised from the dead and GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE by his God and Father then we are taught in Hebrews 1:6 that at the second coming of Jesus all the angels will WORSHIP Jesus the SON OF Almighty God even as they worship Almighty God the Father. So then, when Almighty God Himself COMMANDS us to worship His Son Jesus then who are we to refuse to obey Yahweh’s commandment to honor Jesus even as we honor Yahweh the Father? You see dear children of God, we are TAUGHT in the New Testament to honor Jesus, the SON OF Almighty God the Father, EVEN AS we honor the Father. This is the WILL of Almighty God the Father. So I myself do not see why WORSHIPING Jesus would in any way prove, without fail, the Jesus IS THE ALMIGHTY God YAHWEH HIMSELF. To ME, if so be that Jesus is THE ALMIGHTY God Himself then that would make Jesus to BE the FATHER HIMSELF. For you see, the Bible itself always clearly identifies the Father as being God and also the God OF Jesus. And, clearly, the whole word of God definitely does NOT teach us that Jesus IS the FATHER. All my Oneness Christian readers please read all the studies under the heading >>>IS THE ONENESS DOCTRINE BIBLICAL?<<<) 18. And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is GIVEN UNTO me in heaven and in the earth. (Or more precisely, all power was given to Jesus UNDER heaven and OVER the EARTH after the cross. In other words, Almighty God the Father GAVE his now highly exalted human SON Jesus all power and authority because the anointed Son of MAN, Jesus, pleased his God and Father by becoming OBEDIENT even unto death on the cross to do all his father's WILL. Please read the study “PHILIPPIANS 2:6 - PROVES JESUS PRE-EXISTED!”) 19. Go you, THEREFORE, (Or for this REASON that Almighty God has GIVEN to me all power and authority go and make disciples in MY NAME) and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Now while there are THREE persons or titles mentioned in this verse the actual doctrine of the Trinity is not taught. What I mean by this is that if you did not already know the teaching of the doctrine of the Trinity you would not come away with the understanding that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God where all are co-equal and co-eternal from reading Matthew 28:19. But rather, what we do learn from the context of this verse is that all power was GIVEN to Jesus, the Son OF Almighty God. And that one fact alone CONTRADICTS the CO-EQUALITY doctrine of the Trinity teaching between Almighty God the Father and his Son Jesus from all eternity past. And even though all power was GIVEN to Jesus BY his God and Father does NOT mean that Jesus was EQUAL to his God and Father. You see dear children of God, the word of truth clearly teaches us that the Father is GREATER than his Son Jesus and that Jesus will always be SUBJECT and UNDER his God and Father the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God. So then, the Trinity teaching of being a pre-existing God the Son as being CO-EQUAL with God the Father CONTRADICTS the Biblical Jesus that the Bible itself teaches. Think this through for yourself. According to the doctrine of the Trinity a co-EQUAL, God the Son incarnates himself to become FLESH. Then AFTER the cross, the Bible ITSELF teaches us that Jesus is HIGHLY exalted to be second in command having Yahweh the Father ONLY above him. So INSTEAD of co-EQUAL God the Son being HIGHLY EXALTED for dying on the cross, God the Son was DEMOTED to be UNDER and SUBJECT to HIS God and NO LONGER co-EQUAL as being Yahweh Himself as the second person of the Godhead. Please read the study “19 THINGS TO PONDER ABOUT JESUS BEING GOD?” and “IS JESUS ALMIGHTY GOD?” We will get to the error of Jesus being CO-ETERNAL with Almighty God the Father further on in this study of God's word. Also, we see in this one SINGLE verse of Scripture that Jesus is now giving his disciples a commandment to BAPTIZE in the name of the Father, AND of the Son, AND of the Holy Spirit. But yet, nowhere in the New Testament do we find that the disciples of Jesus ever OBEYING their Lord's explicit instructions to baptize anyone using the THREE names. Therefore, we must ask the question as to WHY? In other words, IF SO BE, Jesus did indeed say these words INSTRUCTING his disciples to BAPTIZE believers in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, then WHY do we not see the disciples of Jesus OBEYING these words of the Lord. Some Bible scholars teach that Matthew 28:19 was ADDED to the original Greek manuscript while other Bible scholars argue that this verse was OMITTED or rather deleted from some of the Greek manuscripts first and then added back. What I mean by this is that all of the Greek manuscripts did indeed have the baptismal formula AFTER the fourth century. BUT there is evidence from other early church writings that indicate that the baptismal formula was NOT in any of the Greek manuscripts BEFORE the fourth century. That is to say, the original manuscripts that existed in the first three centuries that did NOT have this Trinity baptismal formula were either lost or destroyed intentionally or unintentionally. Even the Roman Catholic Church openly admits to adding the baptismal formula in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit during the time that the doctrine of the Trinity was being FORMED. Now if so be that the Apostles of Jesus taught the doctrine of the Trinity then it would have ALREADY been formed. Also, along with OTHER manipulations and SUBTLE changes of the New Testament, we can NOT rule out the possibility that these earlier manuscripts deliberately destroyed or lost by forbidding them to be read anymore. For more evidence of tampering with God’s word please read the study “IS THE KING JAMES BIBLE CORRUPTED?” and “IS the “WORD” IN JOHN 1:1 A DIVINE PERSON?” So the question now becomes was Matthew 28:19 ADDED to the Greek manuscripts after the fourth century? To answer this question we will first look at what the Bible teaches us rather than getting into the argument as to whether or not the Trinity baptismal formula was added to the manuscript used today to translate the Bible. In other words, no one can prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that the baptismal formula was added to the “manuscripts” themselves even though the Roman Catholic Church openly admits to adding the baptismal “formula” itself. So, I myself have concluded that IF SO BE verses were ADDED then do the additions actually CHANGE the true meaning of the context when it is viewed in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God? And IF SO BE these verses were DELETED first and then added back, then do these OMISSIONS take away from the meaning of the context? Also, please read the study “WHY I PREFER THE KING JAMES VERSION?”. I myself have always preferred the King James Version over any other translation because many of the questionable passages of Scripture in the King James Version can be interpreted both ways. Whereas with other translations, the translators have interpreted the Bible FOR you, and thus, you can only understand some modern translations ONE way. So what IF the translator got it WRONG? Also, I myself do agree that I find that some OMISSIONS in OTHER translations of the Bible have indeed affected the meaning of certain verses. What I mean by this is that if the only choice we have is to choose between translations that have ADDED to the word of God and translations that have REMOVED words and even whole verses from the Bible, then WHICH would be better between these two choices IF we MUST choose one or the other? Fortunately, we are NOT forced to choose only ONE Bible translation. This is why we need to COMPARE different translations and as well take a close look at the LITERAL word-for-word translations. But our first rule of interpretation is to read the CONTEXT. And then, after considering the CONTEXT the next rule of interpretation is to compare Scripture with Scripture. With that being said, let us now examine Matthew 28:19 in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. First, notice that the word “NAME” is SINGULAR rather than the plural of THREE different names. We will come back to this SINGULAR “NAME” after we take a look at HOW the disciples of Jesus BAPTIZED believers in the New Testament. Remember that in Matthew 28:19 Jesus himself specifically states that the disciples are to BAPTIZE in the NAME of the Father, AND of the SON, AND of the Holy Spirit. But, what actually happens in the book of Acts? In WHAT NAME do the disciples of Jesus ACTUALLY baptize new believers? Please read Acts 2:29-39 which CLEARLY and PLAINLY teach us that the disciples and the apostles of Jesus baptized believers in the NAME of JESUS CHRIST and NOT in the name of the Father, AND of the Son, AND of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:29-39.
“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. 30. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God (Almighty God) had sworn with an oath to him, that OF the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He (Almighty God the Father) would raise up Christ to sit on HIS throne; 31. He (Referring to the prophet David) seeing THIS before spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32. This Jesus has God (Almighty God the Father) RAISED UP, whereof we all are witnesses. 33. Therefore, being by the right hand of God EXALTED, (You see dear children of God, it was only after Jesus became obedient unto death on the cross that his God and Father HIGHLY EXALTED his Son Jesus and gave him a NAME so at the NAME every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord TO the GLORY OF the FATHER. So whenever we HONOR Jesus we HONOR the Father at the same time. See Philippians chapter 2) and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he has shed forth this, which you now see and hear. 34. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he says himself, The LORD (Speaking of YHWH or Almighty God the Father) said unto my Lord, (Prophesying of Jesus coming into existence of being begotten of Almighty God yet in the future from the time this prophecy was written) Sit you on MY right hand, 35. Until I make your foes your footstool. 36. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God (Almighty God the Father) has MADE that SAME Jesus, whom you have crucified, BOTH Lord AND Christ. 37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men, and brethren, what shall we do? 38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be BAPTIZED every one of you IN the NAME of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39. For the promise (Of receiving the Holy Spirit) is unto YOU, and to YOUR children, and to ALL that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Here we clearly see that the disciples of Jesus either did not HEAR Jesus teach them to BAPTIZE in the name of the Father, AND of the Son, AND of the Holy Spirit, or they directly DISOBEYED their Lord's command, OR Jesus never said those words in Matthew 28:19 to baptize believers in this so-called “Trinity” formula in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Also, please read Acts 19:4-6.
“Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, (Or that is to say that they should believe) on Christ Jesus. 5. When they heard this, they were baptized IN the NAME of the Lord Jesus. 6. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.”
So then, we must ask the QUESTION as to WHY would the very disciples and the apostles of Jesus directly DISOBEY their Lord's instruction as to HOW to baptize believers. This FACT that the disciples and the Apostles did NOT BAPTIZE believers in the NAME of the Father, AND of the SON, AND of the Holy Spirit leads ME to believe that Matthew 28:19 was ADDED by those who wanted SUPPORT for the doctrine of the Trinity. And if you have read even a small amount of church history, then you would know that the doctrine of the Trinity was heavily opposed throughout the early history of the church during the second through the fifth centuries. There were MANY different theories as to what the term SON OF God means. Was Jesus a divine being or a human being? Was Jesus Almighty God Himself? But yet even though the doctrine of the Trinity was opposed by many Christians who fought against it, those who did support the doctrine of the Trinity seemed to have more political influence. And thus, the writings of early believers in Jesus Christ that did not agree exactly with the Roman Catholic Church that was beginning to form and grow stronger were destroyed by the Roman Catholic Church called the Church of Rome at that time. But not ALL of those early church writings were destroyed. Please consider the early church writing of Eusebius who quotes Matthew 28:19 quite differently than what we have today in the King James Bible. Eusebius writes in the History of the Church the following:
For the Jews after the ascension of our Saviour, in addition to their crime against him, had been devising as many plots as they could against his apostles. First, Stephen was stoned to death by them, and after him, James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was beheaded, and finally, James, the first that had obtained the episcopal seat in Jerusalem after the ascension of our Saviour, died in the manner already described. But the rest of the apostles, who had been incessantly plotted against with a view to their destruction, and had been driven out of the land of Judea, went unto all nations to preach the Gospel, relying upon the power of Christ, who had said to them, “Go ye and make disciples of all the nations in my name.” Please notice that this early church writer does NOT quote Matthew 28:19 the way that it is in our Bibles today. There is NO Trinity baptismal formula. In fact, Jesus does not even mention baptism in Matthew 28:19. But rather, Jesus clearly states that the rest of the apostles are to go unto all the nations to preach the gospel, relying upon the power of Christ, WHO had said to them, and Eusebius QUOTES the words of Jesus as being “Go ye and make disciples of all nations in MY NAME.” But our Bibles today say “Go ye and make disciples of all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”, OR rather than, “Go and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Eusebius quotes this text in Matthew 28:19 again and again in his works written between 300 and 336, such as in his long commentaries on the Psalms, on Isaiah, his Demonstratio Evangelica, his Theophany, and in his famous History of the Church, and in his panegyric of the emperor Constantine. Eusebius quotes Matthew 28:19,20 in these above early church writings as being: “Go ye and make disciples of all the nations in My name, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I commanded you.” So this tells me that Eusebius and other Christian believers were reading the gospel of Mathew from a DIFFERENT manuscript than from what we have preserved for us today from the FOURTH-century which was AFTER the doctrine of the Trinity was made DOGMA. Or as we would say today, the doctrine of the Trinity was made LAW punishable by DEATH, examination for the church, and being exiled from the country. Let us continue to search the evidence. The truth of the matter is that NO manuscript that predates the fourth century contains any words beyond Matthew 26:52. It could be that “fragments” of the manuscript were lost or destroyed. In other words, it can neither be proved nor disproved by looking at just the manuscripts that remain to this day which are dated BEFORE the fourth century because they do NOT contain chapter 28 of Matthew. So then, the question arises. Were these original manuscripts deliberately destroyed? That is to say, was the last part of Matthew deliberately torn out and destroyed in order to ensure that this new Roman Catholic doctrine of the Trinity would not be questioned when the baptismal Trinity formula was added to Matthew 28:19 in the manuscripts during the fourth century. Now again, from JUST the early church writings it can not be proven either way whether this verse was added by some or omitted by others and put back because other early church writers in the first three centuries do indeed quote the baptismal formula that we have today in Matthew 28:19. They are not necessarily quoting the Bible itself but they were TEACHING the baptismal formula. So all we know for sure is that Eusebius and others did indeed read from a DIFFERENT manuscript that did not contain the Trinity formula for baptism. There is reason to believe that Matthew was written in Hebrew and Aramaic first and then later translated into Greek but this is controversial as well. So then, the next thing to do is to examine both texts in the context and do some other tests to see which text fits the best.
TEST #1. The Test of Context.
Matthew 28:18-20.
“And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is GIVEN UNTO ME in heaven and in the earth. (In other words, Almighty God the Father GAVE his SON Jesus all power and authority UNDER heaven and OVER the earth because the anointed human Son of God pleased his God and Father by becoming OBEDIENT even unto death on the cross to do all his father's WILL. Again please read the study “PHILIPPIANS 2:6 - PROVES JESUS PRE-EXISTED!”) 19. Go you, therefore, (Or for this REASON of God GIVING me all power and authority over the earth go and make disciples in my name) and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
In many of today's translations, we see that all power is given unto ME speaking of Jesus being a single person teaching baptism in THREE with the SINGULAR use of the Greek word translated as NAME. And then, Jesus goes on to give more instruction in the SINGULAR. In other words, the translations we have today SWITCH back and forth from SINGULAR to the plural and back again to SINGULAR which again raises the question, Was this so-called Trinity baptismal formula ADDED to the text in order to try and prove that God is a “TRINITY”? But in the translation or the manuscript that was used by Eusebius, the text is SINGULAR all the way through.
“All power is given unto ME, go ye therefore and make disciples in MY name, teaching them whatsoever I have commanded thee: and lo I am with ye always.”
TEST #2, The Test of Frequency.
Ask yourself the question, Is the phrase “...in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” used at any other time in the Bible? The answer is a NO, not even one other time is this so-called baptismal formula used anywhere in the Bible. Now ask yourself the question, Is the phrase “...in my name” used anywhere else in God's word? The answer is YES! This phrase speaking of Jesus is found 17 times referring to 10 different things done in the AUTHORITY of the NAME of Jesus; Matthew 18:5 / Matthew 18:20 / Matthew 24:5 / Mark 9:39 / Mark 9:41 / Mark 16:17 / John 14:13,14 / John 14:26 / John 15:16 / John 16:23,24,26.
TEST #3. The Test of Doctrine.
What I mean by this is what does the Bible teach us as to WHO was crucified for us? In other words, where there THREE persons of the Godhead that were crucified for our sins, as in, was Almighty God the Father crucified, AND the Son crucified, AND the Holy Spirit crucified? Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 1:13 that Jesus Christ is NOT divided.
1 Corinthians 1:13.
“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
This teaches us that Jesus Christ was crucified for us and that the disciples of Jesus baptized believers in the NAME of Jesus. Baptism by submersion in water is symbolic of our old man being buried with Jesus Christ in death and then rising again out of “spiritual” death to be created as a new creation IN Jesus Christ by Yahweh the Father to walk in NEWNESS of LIFE. The Father did not die for us. Nor did the Holy Spirit die for us. But rather it was Jesus, the SON OF Almighty God who died for our sins. And Jesus is the “WORKMANSHIP OF Yahweh”.
Please read Romans 6:3-11.
“Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into HIS death? 4. Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death: (Referring to the death of the OLD CORRUPTED man of the flesh that has learned to love sin): that (Or so that) like as Christ was raised up from the dead BY the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in NEWNESS of LIFE. 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7. For (Or BECAUSE) he that is dead is freed from sin. 8. Now if we are dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death has no more dominion over him. 10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God. 11. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Notice that verse 11 does NOT say that we are alive unto the FATHER through Jesus Christ. The God being spoken about is ONE person. Jesus did not die to reconcile us to himself. Jesus died to reconcile us to “God” who is One God in ONE person that is always identified as being the Father. Almighty God the Father gave us his HUMAN SON to die for us. The Father wants us to believe in his SON. God wants us to HONOR his SON so much so that there is ONLY ONE NAME under heaven given among men whereby we MUST be saved. So whatever we do in the NAME of Jesus, the SON OF Almighty God we do to the GLORY of the FATHER, who IS SPIRIT. Please read Acts 4:10-12.
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the NAME of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12. Neither is there, salvation in ANY OTHER: for there is NONE OTHER NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we MUST be saved.”
Now be honest with yourself and with God. If so be, that the Greek manuscript that Eusebius used was still present today and there were modern translations of Matthew 28:19 that read the same way as Eusebius and others quoted in the first three centuries of the early church, then it would be easy to understand WHY the disciples baptized believers in the SINGULAR name of Jesus as OPPOSED to the way the Roman Catholic Church and other mainstream Protestant church denominations that branched off from the Roman Catholic Church that all baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit because OF this one verse of Scripture. Now, I myself was baptized in the name of the Father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit by submersion in water. And around six months later, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands by an elder brother in the Lord who had the fullness of the Holy Spirit in him with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. So I am not dogmatically teaching that we should be RE-baptized or baptized AGAIN in the name of Jesus ONLY in order to be saved, as in, if you were NOT baptized in the name of Jesus ONLY, then you are NOT saved. Some Christians like the Pentecostal Oneness Christians do indeed dogmatically demand that if you are NOT baptized in the name of Jesus ONLY, then you are NOT saved. Now, I myself do NOT teach this extreme false doctrine for I KNOW that I am saved having been baptized in the NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. I KNOW that I was saved back when I USED to believe in the doctrine of the Trinity and I still yet KNOW that I am saved today after coming to the knowledge of the truth that God is NOT a so-called “TRINITY” Godhead as Trinitarian Christians falsely teach. So do NOT be JUDGED by those who say that you are NOT saved when you know that you have repented of your sins and you confess Jesus as the SON OF God who did for your sins. I personally believe that God looks upon our hearts and God knows those who are His and who truly believe that His Son Jesus died for them. So what is important to ME is that we obey the word of God to be baptized in water once we become a believer despite whether or not a believer is baptized in the name of Jesus ONLY or a believer is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the SON, and of the Holy Spirit because. either way, you are still baptized in the NAME of the Son, Jesus Christ. Even the popes in the fourth century were arguing that those who were baptized in the name of Jesus ONLY were genuinely baptized into the body of Jesus Christ which teaches us that having TWO DIFFERENT translations created unforeseen PROBLEMS that were not anticipated when the original text was ALTERED. Now, which way the text was ALTERED is left up to YOU, the reader, and seeker of the truth to decide after you have honestly and openly truly considered the WHOLE matter. Was there an ADDITION to the text or was there an OMISSION to the text and the baptismal formula was added back? Keep reading.
TEST #4. The Test of Comparing the Gospels.
In other words, what do the other gospels say?
Please read Luke 42:44-48.
“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, 46. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached IN HIS NAME among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48. And you are witnesses of these things.”
Luke teaches us to preach the remission of sins in the NAME of Jesus. Now let us see what the gospel of Mark says.
Please read Mark 16:15-18.
“And he said unto them, Go you into all the world, and PREACH the GOSPEL to every creature. 16. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be damned. 17. And these signs shall follow them that believe; IN MY NAME shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Now, when Mark and Luke are compared with the writing that Eusebius quoted from we find more harmony in the gospels than with the translation that is used today containing the Trinity baptismal formula that is ONLY found in Matthew 29:19 but NOT obeyed anywhere in the Bible by the Apostles. So what does Paul teach us?
Please read Romans 1:3-5.
“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4. And declared to be the Son of God with POWER, (This agrees with Matthew 28:18, which says, “ALL POWER is GIVEN unto ME under heaven and over the earth” speaking of the SON Jesus being GIVEN all power by his God and Father the one true and only ALMIGHTY God) according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: 5. By whom we have received grace and apostleship, (This agrees with the great commission to GO YOU into all the world and PREACH the gospel) for obedience to the faith (And this agrees with teaching them to OBSERVE all things whatsoever I have commanded you) among all nations, (And this agrees with and teach all nations or to make disciples of all nations) for his name:”
But the last phrase that Paul uses “... for his name…” does NOT agree with Matthew 28:19. But Rather it AGREES with the LOST or partially DESTROYED manuscripts from which Eusebius and some other early church writers quoted that did NOT have the Trinitarian baptismal formula to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Once again, Eusebius and some other early church writers quoted Matthew 28:19 as being:
“Go ye and make disciples of all the nations in My name, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I commanded you.”
This early translation BEFORE the FOURTH-century that has now been lost or deliberately destroyed, to ME, better harmonizes with the rest of God's word. Now some of you who are King James ONLY Christians may not agree and will argue that I am just trying to change the text to fit my own personal interpretation of the Scriptures. Some may say that I am “suggesting” false accusations against the Roman Catholic Church for destroying the early writings of Christians. But the evidence is out there on the Internet that the Roman Catholic Church did indeed “put to the FIRE” many early church writings that disagreed with the doctrine of the Trinity that MUST have a pre-existing “God the Son”. And if Christians choose to look for it and be open to receive it, then the evidence is overwhelming that the King James Bible has been tampered with for the very purpose of swaying Christians to believe the Roman Catholic doctrine of the “TRINITY”. Therefore, since the evidence speaks for itself it is interesting to NOTE that St Jerome an early church writer canonized by the Roman Catholic Church to be a Saint wrote the following:
Matthew, who is also Levi...composed a gospel...in the Hebrew language and characters...Furthermore, the Hebrew ITSELF is preserved to this day in the library at Caesurae which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected.
Jerome was born A.D. 331 and died in 420. He wrote many exegetical and controversial treatises and letters, as well as the renowned Latin Vulgate translation of the Scriptures. Also, Jerome was very much a believer and teacher of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the trinity, which was still yet developing to what it has become today. Now, Eusebius of Caesurae, who lived between 260 to 340 A.D., inherited from that Pamphilus that famous Library. This library or early church writings was commenced or began to be collected by Origen who lived from 185 to 254 A.D. Please note that the wording of that statement by Jerome apparently meant that the ORIGINAL Hebrew Manuscript of Matthew was still to be seen in the Library at Caesurae at the time of his writing. It could have meant that an early copy of Matthew’s Hebrew writing was there but the phraseology of Jerome appeared to indicate that it was the actual original Hebrew Manuscript itself that was written by Matthew himself was still yet fully preserved as late as the fourth century from which Eusebius quoted in his writings. Now, it would not surprise me that a copy at least of the original manuscript written by Matthew still exists even today hidden away in the vast library of the Vatican in Rome in one of their temperature-controlled vaults. But even if it does not still exist today there is enough evidence for me that clearly shows that it did indeed exist until the mid to late fourth century. But some Christians still want to argue that Eusebius of Caesurae signed the document at the council of Nicaea accepting the doctrine of the Trinity. However, what they do not tell you is that he did so under great pressure and not willingly.
Please consider the three sources below:
1. At the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) Eusebius took a leading part...He occupied the first seat to the emperor’s right and delivered the opening address to Constantine when he took his seat in the council chamber...Eusebius himself has left us an account of his doings with regard to the main object of the council in a letter of explanation to his church at Caesurae...This letter...is written to the Caesareans to explain that he would resist to the last any vital change in the traditional creed of his church, but had subscribed to these alterations, when assured of their innocence, to avoid appearing contentious. Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature; Eusebius 2. Our concern here is only with Nicaea as it affected Eusebius...his own account of the matter is transmitted to us...in the letter, he addressed to his diocese an explanation of his actions at the Council, for with some misgiving he had signed the document bearing the revised text of the creed he had presented...But being satisfied that the creed did not imply the opposite Sabellian pitfall ...he signed the document. Wallace Hadrill, in ‘Eusebius of Caesurae,’ (1960) 3. The Nicene Council followed, in the summer of A.D. 325. Eusebius, of course, attended and was profoundly impressed by the sight of that majestic gathering...He occupied a distinguished position in the Council; he was its spokesman in welcoming the Emperor...On the next day, as if yielding to those representations, and moved by the express opinion of Constantine, he signed the Creed, and even accepted the anathematism appended to it; but did so, as we gather from his own statement, by dint of evasive glosses which he certainly could not have announced at that time. While then he verbally capitulated in the doctrinal decisions of the Nicene Council...he did so reluctantly, under pressure, and in senses of his own...He knew that he would be thought to have compromised his convictions, and therefore wrote his account of the transaction to the people of his diocese, and, as Athanasius expresses it ‘excluded himself in his own way’. William Bright in his Preface to Burton’s ‘Text of Eusebius Ecclesiastical History’
It may be that Eusebius later became a Roman Catholic to escape being killed if he were to DENY the doctrine of the Trinity. Many other believers were indeed martyred for their DENIAL of the doctrine of the Trinity. I do not know every detail of church history. The only thing that we know for SURE is that some of the early church believers read and quoted from DIFFERENT manuscripts than what we have today because their writings make it clear that the phrase “in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” was NOT in the original manuscript from which they read and quoted. I do not believe that IF the Trinity baptismal formula had been written by the very Apostles of Jesus that any Christian would have doubted and opposed the doctrine of the Trinity to be Martyred for defending their faith. Now, it is ALSO very interesting to NOTE that another text in the King James Version was without question ADDED to the Textus Receptus manuscript. Please read the studies called “1 JOHN 5:7 - AND THESE THREE ARE ONE” and “IS THE KING JAMES BIBLE CORRUPTED?” As always, I leave it to YOU the reader, and seeker of the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God, to decide what you yourself desire to believe. I am here just to present you with the evidence that I myself have found and the conclusion that I have drawn. Please keep in mind that this ONE study is NOT the WHOLE matter concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. I encourage you to read ALL the studies on this subject before you make any final conclusions. Below are some other verses used to try and support the doctrine of the trinity. I also highly suggest read the study >>>WHO IS JESUS ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?<<< And also read the list of studies that I have grouped together as being related to this study on the doctrine of the Trinity. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Below are some other verses that are used to try and support the doctrine of the Trinity and the Deity of Jesus DURING the days of his FLESH. There may be other verses which you may be having trouble seeing any other way than what you were dogmatically taught over and over for so long but I assure you that each and every verse used by those who teach the doctrine of the trinity does indeed have a different meaning that does NOT CONTRADICT any other part of God's word. If there is a verse that I have not listed please do not hesitate to write and let me know. Some verses are included in other studies and they may not appear as an individual study. If there is a verse or verses that you seem to struggle with only being able to see the doctrine of the trinity when you read that particular verse or passage of Scripture, then I implore you to please search out the truth by listening to the other side of the controversy by hearing the WHOLE matter. No one can arrive at the truth by hearing only ONE side of the controversy. I only present you with ALL the evidence that I myself have found and leave it to you to decide what you want to believe. However, as for ME, I myself can no longer believe in the man-made doctrine of the Trinity that literally took centuries to be formed and was made or forced to be accepted under the threat of death by the Roman Catholic Church. Again, below is a complete list of all the studies that I have which show WHY I no longer believe in the doctrine of the Trinity and why I can NEVER believe in the doctrine of Oneness. I assure you that every verse that SEEMS to be saying that Jesus pre-existed in eternity past has another meaning that does NOT contradict any other verses of Scripture in the entire Bible. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you CONTINUE to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Your Brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PREEXISTED! To me, the best way to know the ONE true God in ONE person is to know who Jesus TRULY IS according to the WHOLE word of Almighty God so please read ALL the studies under the heading >>>WHO IS JESUS ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE?<<< and you will see that the Bible itself teaches us that Jesus was CREATED by his God and Father. And if you have any questions related to the correct meaning of certain verses of Scripture on this subject of who Jesus is please read all the studies under the two headings >>>A LIST OF STUDIES ON THE TRINITY!<<< and >>>VERSES USED TO TEACH THAT JESUS PRE-EXISTED!<<< These two headings have ALL the studies that I have on who Jesus truly is according to what the Bible itself teaches us in simplicity. I compiled these three headings to make it easy for my readers to send just one, two, or three links to those you desire to help understand what the Bible itself teaches concerning who Jesus is in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the truth of the whole word of Almighty God.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark.
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