SPELLING EDITED W-13. WHAT DOES ISAIAH 52:6 TRULY MEAN?
There are a few verses in the Old Testament that seem to be saying that Yahweh IS Jesus. And one of those verses of Scripture in Isaiah 52:6 which has the phrase “I AM HE”. The pronoun “I” is Yahweh Himself speaking and the pronoun “he” is “INTERPRETED” to be referring to Jesus. BUT it is this incorrect “interpretation” of those verses as being one of the reasons as to why the Oneness Christians and Trinitarian Christians believe that Jesus IS Yahweh Himself in the flesh. Now, while it is true that EVERYTHING GOOD is the work OF Yahweh, that does NOT mean that the WORK of Yahweh IS Yahweh Himself. Before we read Isaiah 52:6. I want you to read a quote from an Oneness Pentecostal website. Please know and understand that while I do believe and teach that the ONE TRUE God is one God in ONE PERSON I do NOT believe the Oneness doctrine that wrongly teaches that Jesus IS the FATHER. Here is argument number six from an Oneness website. The emphasis is my own.
6. Jehovah said, “Therefore, my people shall know my name: therefore, they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak; behold, it is I” (Isaiah 52:6). Yet we know that Jesus is the One that declared the Father, manifested the Father’s name, and declared the Father’s name (John 1:18; 17:6; 17:26). Jesus declared the LORD’s name (Psalm 22:22; Hebrews 2:12). THUS, He MUST BE Jehovah.
Now let us read Isaiah 52:6 to learn its TRUE meaning in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Isaiah 52:6.
“Therefore, my people shall know my name: therefore, they shall know in that day that I am he that does speak: behold, it is I.”
In other words, Oneness Christians “interpret” this verse to mean that Yahweh Himself is saying something like, “Do you see that man named Jesus over there? That is ME, I AM HE, the Messiah, it is I and he is ME.” And in a “SENSE” the Oneness Christians are correct and in another sense, they are completely WRONG! Let me explain what I mean by Oneness Christians being correct and also completely wrong at the same time. Please notice that Yahweh is saying that He is the one doing the SPEAKING, as in, the WORDS that Jesus spoke ARE, indeed, the WORDS of Yahweh Himself. But that does NOT mean that Jesus is Yahweh Himself. Yahweh says, BEHOLD or look and see, IT is I, as in, what is being SPOKEN is MY WORD and not the word of a self-appointed prophet that speaks in his OWN NAME. So just because Jesus declared Yahweh the Father to be the ONLY TRUE God in John 17:1-3 does NOT mean that Jesus IS Yahweh the Father. For you see, it was Yahweh Himself who prophesied that He would RAISE UP a PROPHET like unto Moses and that Yahweh would put His words in the MOUTH of that Prophet which he will speak in MY NAME. Please read Deuteronomy 18:18-20 and then we will read the FULFILLMENT of that prophecy in Acts. And then I will explain WHY Yahweh raised up a prophet and a Savior. I will highlight the words and pronouns that refer to Yahweh Himself in orange. And I will highlight the words and pronouns that refer to the WORKMANSHIP of Yahweh the creator in yellow. The words in green are referring to Yahweh doing the WORK of bringing to pass His spoken word of PROPHECY. Deuteronomy 18:18-20.
“I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and (I, Yahweh) will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (NOW, is the prophet, Moses, Yahweh Himself just because Moses SPOKE the words of Yahweh? NO! Absolutely NOT! It was Yahweh doing the SPEAKING through His PROPHETS. And, according to Hebrews 1:1,2, in the last days, Yahweh has chosen to speak through His ANOINTED Son whom he has RAISED UP from among the brethren. Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of PROPHECY which means that Jesus is the WORKMANSHIP OF Yahweh. I was not some so-called always existing God the Son, the second person of a Godhead Trinity who raised up himself. But rather, it is the only true God Yahweh the Father who did ALL the WORK of PERFORM His OWN word of PROPHECY of bringing His Son into existence) 19. And it shall come to pass,(Or it will be FULFILLED) that whosoever will NOT hearken unto MY words which he shall speak IN MY NAME, I will require it of him. 20. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in My name, which I have NOT commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
Now let us read Acts 3:18-23 to learn that it is, in FACT, Jesus who is the FULFILLMENT of this prophecy and NOT another prophet such as Mohammad of Islam or Gandhi of Hinduism. Acts 3:18-23.
“But those things, which God before had shown by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, He has so fulfilled. (Meaning that Yahweh PERFORMS or brings to pass His own spoken word of PROPHECY. It was Yahweh who MADE Jesus be BOTH Lord and Christ. Jesus is the WORKMANSHIP OF Yahweh to GLORIFY Yahweh. This does NOT lesson who Jesus is, according to the Bible itself. In fact, it MAGNIFIES BOTH Jesus and Yahweh the creator who ALONE is the Father the ONLY true God, according to John 17:1-3) 19. Repent you, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20. And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21. Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall you hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23. And it shall come to pass, (Or it shall be FULFILLED) that every soul, which will NOT hear that prophet, shall be DESTROYED from among the people.”
And if you do NOT believe that Jesus is THAT PROPHET to obey the words of Yahweh that Yahweh Himself put in the mouth of Jesus to SPEAK then you shall DIE in your sins. But WHY? Why did Yahweh devise His plan of salvation to raise up a prophet from among the people? Why did Yahweh devise His plan of salvation to raise up a Savior as being the WAY in which Yahweh will save His people? Why did not Yahweh just simply FORGIVE everyone, destroy Lucifer and the fallen angels, and be done with the whole matter? Why did Yahweh go to all this WORK to save ONLY those who BELIEVE in His so great a salvation? Why was there a NEED for a MAN to be the Savior? Well, one of the reasons for Yahweh choosing a MAN to be the King of Israel is that Israel did not want to HEAR the voice of Yahweh DIRECTLY anymore. But THAT is what Yahweh WANTED them to desire in the first place. God put that desire in their heart so God could FULFILL the desire of the heart. Please understand that the Bibles does NOT teach hardcore “Five-Point Calvinism” which wrongly teaches that EVERYTHING, including all EVIL, that happens does so because God ORDAINED it to happen. It is ONLY what God PROPHESIED in His word that is what God ORDAINED. Let us read the CONTEXT of Deuteronomy 18:18-20 to learn WHY God prophesied to raise up Jesus.
Please read Deuteronomy 18:15-20.
“The LORD your God will raise up unto you a Prophet FROM the midst of you, OF your brethren, like unto me; unto him, you shall hearken; (The prophecy does NOT say that Yahweh will INCARNATE Himself to become that prophet. The Oneness Christians BORROWED that unBiblical term “incarnation” of “God incarnate” form Trinitarian Christians who borrowing it from heathen paganism or Platonism. The word of TRUTH simply says that God will RAISE UP a Prophet FROM among the people of Israel or of the HUMAN lineage of King David. And the REASON WHY God did this is answered for us in the next two verses of Scripture) 16. ACCORDING to ALL to all that YOU DESIRED OF the LORD your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, SAYING, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire ANY MORE, that I die NOT. (The children of Israel were terrified of Yahweh. Yahweh put the FEAR of Yahweh in them so to speak for a REASON. And that reason is Jesus. There is more to Jesus than just being God’s MESSENGER. Jesus accomplished THROUGH the ANOINTING what the FIRST Adam failed to accomplish. In other words, Yahweh Himself accomplished THROUGH His WORKMANSHIP what His FIRST workmanship, the FIRST Adam failed to accomplish. BUT the LAST Adam was in God’s mind and PLAN of salvation BEFORE any of God’s re-creation or the restoration of the earth that BECAUSE video and empty during the WAR between Lucifer and God. So the very reason for WHY God even created the human race was to put an END the EVIL. And those of us who overcome evil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony will be given the honor to JUDGE Lucifer and the fallen angels BY our WORKS. I believe that God will say to Lucifer and the fallen angels, “Do you see that MAN named Jesus over there sitting on my throne? I made him a little lower and INFERIOR to you angels and he did not rebel against me. He did not even THINK to take by force to be equal with me even after I gave him all power and authority to rule and reign for me in my name in the HIGHEST position possible on my throne right beside me. And all you good angels have now seen that even a MAN can live without rebelling against me. You have seen that what I create, I create PERFECT in the day that I create it so I have every right to DESTROY what I create the rebels against me to make WAR with me to try to take over my throne. Please read the studies under the heading >>>WHAT ARE WER HERE-IS GOD AT WAR?<<< But for now, please know and understand that Yahweh PERFORMS His spoken word of prophecy and in order for God to fulfill Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in OUR image” God needle the children of Israel to SAY that they desired to hear the voice of a PROPHET rather than hearing the voice of Yahweh directly) 17. And the LORD said unto me, They have WELL SPOKEN that which they HAVE SPOKEN. (In other words, Yahweh said to Moses, “That is EXACTLY what I wanted they to say” And NOW because they have ASKED me exactly what I wanted them to ask me) 18. “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto you, and (I, Yahweh) will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (Again, is the prophet, Moses, Yahweh Himself just because Moses SPOKE the words of Yahweh? NO! Absolutely NOT! It was Yahweh doing the SPEAKING through His PROPHETS. And, according to Hebrews 1:1,2, in the last days, Yahweh has chosen to speak through His ANOINTED Son whom he has RAISED UP from among the brethren. Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of PROPHECY which means that Jesus is the WORKMANSHIP OF Yahweh. I was not some so-called always existing God the Son, the second person of a Godhead Trinity who raised up himself. But rather, it is the only true God Yahweh the Father who did ALL the WORK of PERFORM His OWN word of PROPHECY of bringing His Son into existence) 19. And it shall come to pass,(Or it will be FULFILLED) that whosoever will NOT hearken unto MY words which he shall speak IN MY NAME, I will require it of him.”
Now, the children of Israel ALSO rejected Yahweh as their King and they DESIRED an earthly King that they could SEE. So Yahweh GRANTED their desire which He Himself placed in the heart to DESIRE in the first place.
Please read Psalm 37:4,5.
“Delight yourself ALSO in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires (Or He will give you the PETITIONS) of your heart. 5. Commit your way unto the LORD; trust ALSO in him, and He shall bring IT (The REQUESTS that He placed in your heart) to pass.”
So then, Yahweh gave the desire to the children of Israel to REQUEST a HUMAN King to be over them. And Jesus said to Pilate, “to this END was I BORN” to be the King of Israel. It was Yahweh Himself who DECLARED the END from the BEGINNING. In other words, the END which will be FULFILLED at the END actually BEGAN with the spoken WORD of Yahweh being DECLARED or prophesied by Yahweh. In the beginning, was the WORD, and the WORD was with Yahweh and the WORD was “A” God. Let us see if the END FULFILLMENT of the WORD of prophecy agrees with this INTERPRETATION of John 1:1 as being PROPHECY of “A” God as opposed to the word being Almighty God Himself, as in, a second PERSON of Himself called God the Son, the second person of a so-called Trinity Godhead. In other words, is Jesus THE one and only true Almighty God Himself? Or is Jesus “A” God whom Yahweh FORMED? Well, to ME the answer is SIMPLE because there can only be ONE God who is the Almighty God. And the Almighty God can NOT possibly have ANOTHER God OVER and above Him. And the Father is the God OF Jesus. Please read the study “IS JESUS ALMIGHTY GOD?” But for now, let us look at some other prophecies that SEEM to be saying that Jesus is Yahweh Himself. The prophecies that I am referring to are the “I AM HE” verses in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament. The “I AM HE” verses.
There are 18 “I AM HE” verses in the Bible, as in, there are 18 verses that have the exact phrase “I am he” in the King James translation. And 14 of those verses refer to Jesus and or they seem to refer to Yahweh being Jesus by “interpretation”. Six of those 14 verses are prophecies in the Old Testament and the remaining 8 “I AM HE” verses of Scripture are the FULFILLMENT of the prophecies in the Old Testament. Also, the pronoun “he” is always in italics in the verses referring to Jesus in the New Testament to let us know that the pronoun “he” was added by the translators for clarity. But what some Christians have FAILED to see is that the verb “AM” in the Old Testament “ I AM HE” verses is NOT in the original text. Let us begin to closely examine these 14 verses with one of the New Testament “I AM HE” verses first to see WHO Jesus himself is saying that he is. In other words, is Jesus saying he is the great “I AM THAT I AM”? Or is Jesus saying I am “he” the one prophesied to come in the Scriptures? For you see, to ME, Jesus will NOT contradict himself. So if even ONE “I AM HE” verse can be clearly seen as Jesus as having said of himself that he is the MESSIAH then that is what ALL the “I AM HE” verses are INTENDED to mean in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
Please read John 13:19.
“Now I tell you before it comes, that, when it is come to pass, you may believe that I am he.”
Now, Oneness Christians and Trinitarian Christians “interpret” this verse to mean that Jesus is saying that he himself is Yahweh, the I AM THAT I AM of the Old Testament in Exodus 3:14. They argue that since Jesus is telling the FUTURE then Jesus MUST be Yahweh Himself because only the creator can know the future. And they conclude their argument by saying something like, “Jesus even says that he said this so that they would BELIEVE that he is the I AM, Yahweh Himself in the flesh.” But that is NOT what the CONTEXT teaches us. Please read this verse again left in its context to learn its TRUE SOUND Biblical meaning in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
John 13:16-20.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17. If you know these things, happy are you if you do them. 18. I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: BUT that the Scripture may be fulfilled, He that eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me. (Jesus knew the FUTURE because Jesus BELIEVED the Scriptures. Jesus told us that the Scriptures TESTIFY of him. In other words, the Scriptures PROPHESYING exactly as to WHO the MESSIAH is, and since Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of many of those prophecies at his first coming we know that the rest of the prophecies will be fulfilled just as they are prophesied) 19. Now I tell you before IT comes, that, when IT is come to pass, you may believe that I am he. (So then, Jesus is simply saying that when THIS PROPHECY comes to pass then you will KNOW that I am the One PROPHESIED in the Scripture. I am the “ME” that the one prophesied to lift his heel AGAINST. That is WHO I am) 20. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receives whomsoever I send receives me; and he that receives me receives Him that SENT (Or more precisely, one SENDING) me.”
Now let us read the prophecy of Judas lifting his heel against to see WHO he is prophesied to lift his heel against. We know that the FULFILMENT is Jesus but WHO does the “prophecy” say it is?
Please read Psalm 41:7-13.
“All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. 8. An evil disease, say they, cleave fast unto him: (In other words, they say he has a devil so why allow him to live. Let him die) and now that he lies he shall rise up no more. 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. 10. But you, O LORD, be merciful unto me and raise me up, that I may requite them. 11. By this, I know that you favor me because my enemy does not triumph over me. 12. And as for me, you uphold me in my integrity and SET me before your face forever. 13. Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.”
Some Christians argue that this is NOT a prophecy about Jesus because of verse 4 that says he SINNED against God. But the words “against you” are not in the original text and the Hebrew word translated as “sinned” also means “MAKE RECONCILIATION”. So to ME, Jesus is saying “repair my soul for I MAKE RECONCILIATION” Jesus knew the Scripture spoke of him. Jesus knew that he would be crucified for the very purpose of making reconciliation for the sins of the world. Here is how E-Sword defines the Hebrew word translated as “sinned” in verse 4.
H2398 חָטָא châṭâ' khaw-taw' A primitive root; properly to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) lead astray, condemn: - bear the blame, cleanse, commit [sin], by fault, the harm he hath done, loss, miss, (make) offend (-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin (-ful, -ness), trespassive
It was the Anointed Son of MAN, Jesus who bore our sins. CLEARLY, Jesus is NOT saying that he is the Great I AM THAT I AM in John 13:19 by the words “ I AM HE”. For you see, the prophecy Jesus quoted is about the Messiah being plotted against to be crucified and how Yahweh, the Great I AM THAT I AM will raise Jesus up from the dead. Jesus did NOT raise himself from the dead. It was NOT Yahweh Himself who died on the cross for our sins. It was NOT God the Son who died on the cross for our sins. It was the Son of MAN, whom God ANOINTED with the earnest of His Holy Spirit and POWER who died on the cross for his FELLOWS or his FELLOW man, his BRETHREN. Jesus is our brother, a fellow human being that Yahweh HIGHLY EXALTED after the cross. Another New Testament passage of Scripture that has three “I AM HE” verses in the same passage of Scripture is John 18:5-8. Both Oneness Christians and Trinitarian Christians argue that the pronoun “he” is NOT in the original text. They argue that Jesus is saying that he is Yahweh Himself the “I AM” in Exodus 3:14. They focus on the phrase “As soon as Jesus said I AM” they all fell backward to the ground. And, to THEM, that proves Jesus is Yahweh Himself in the flesh. But what about the verses that say Jesus could do NOTHING OF himself and that it was the Father dwelling IN him who did the works? Let us read these three “I AM HE” verses to learn their true meaning in the light of the whole word of Almighty God. Please read John 18:5-8.
“They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 6. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. 8. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore you seek me, let these go their way:”
To me, the focus should be on Jesus laying down his life of his own free will. I believe that the mob came to arrest Jesus and ALL of his disciples as well BUT Yahweh would not allow the disciples to be arrested and killed as yet so that the PROPHECY would be FULFILLED. It is Yahweh Himself who PERFORMS His own spoken word of prophecy to bring it to pass just as it is prophesied. So when we read the CONTEXT of the next verse we can see WHY the mob with their lanterns and weapons fell backward when Jesus FREELY surrendered himself to drink the CUP of Yahweh’s WILL and Jesus told them that he was Jesus of Nazareth.
John 18:9.
“THAT the SAYING (Or SO THAT the LOGOS, the spoken word of prophecy) might be FULFILLED, which He spake, Of them which YOU gave me have I lost none.”
We know from other verses of Scripture that Jesus lost Judas Iscariot to fulfill the prophecy. Let us read the prophecy to see WHO Jesus is saying that he IS when he said “I AM HE” in the three verses in John 18:5-9.
Please read Psalm 109:3-8.
“They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. 4. For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. (Clearly, the pronoun “me” and myself are NOT referring to Yahweh Himself. But rather they are referring to Yahweh’s Messiah whom He PROPHESIED to be raised up from among the people in the lineage of King David) 5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. (Jesus said you want to kill me for telling you the TRUTH) 6. Set you a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand. (Or turn him over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh) 7. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin. 8. Let his days be few, and let another take his office.”
And Peter quoted this verse referring to Judas Iscariot in Acts 1:16-20 which you can read on your own. My point right now is that Jesus is NOT saying that he is Yahweh Himself in John 18:5-8. But rather, Jesus is simply answering the question of the mob when Jesus asked them WHO do you SEEK. And they ANSWERED and said we seek Jesus of Nazareth. And Jesus simply answered them and said I am he or I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you seek. It was Yahweh the Father who put the fear of Yahweh in the mob to ONLY arrest Jesus and let the disciples of Jesus go free. Yahweh was PERFORMING His OWN word of PROPHECY. So the translators CORRECTLY added the pronoun “He” which, in my own opinion, they SHOULD have added in John 8:58 as well. Please read the study “WHAT DOES JOHN 8:58 TRULY MEAN?” Since we only have two more “I AM HE” verses in the New Testament, let us take a closer look at those two verses in the CONTEXT to learn their TRUE SOUND Biblical meaning in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God. The first rule to CORRECTLY interpret what a verse is TRULY saying is to KEEP that verse in question IN the CONTEXT of where it is found. So then, let us now read John 8:24 being LEFT in the CONTEXT of where it is found in order to see what this verse is TRULY teaching us. Please read John 8:12-32, the immediate CONTEXT of verse 24, keeping in mind that Jesus and the Father are TWO different and SEPARATE individual persons or beings. I do NOT believe in the “doctrine” of the Trinity as a whole but I do believe that the doctrine of the Trinity has it correct on ONE point. And that one correct point is that Jesus is NOT the Father and the Father is NOT Jesus. But the doctrine of the Trinity is wrong by forcing the Holy Spirit to be a separate person from the Father. So while you are read this passage of Scripture I also want you to see that only TWO are being spoken of rather than THREE. Now I realize that this is a long passage of Scripture, but CONTEXT is vital if you desire the TRUTH.
John 8:12-59.
“Then spoke Jesus again unto 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. 13. The Pharisees, therefore, said unto him, You bear record of yourself; your record is not true. (The Pharisees were always judging Jesus BEFORE they heard the WHOLE matter of what Jesus is teaching. They would jump to conclusions. They would ASSUME things that Jesus was NOT saying.) 14. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but you cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. 15. You judge after the flesh; I judge no man. 16. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am NOT ALONE, but I AND the Father that SENT me. (Again, there TWO rather the THREE or a Trinity. And also, not just ONE as the doctrine of Oneness wrongly discerns or interprets Jesus to BE one and the self-same being as the Father. CLEARLY, to NOT be ALONE means that someone other than yourself is WITH you) 17. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of TWO men is true. (Jesus plainly states that there are TWO that bear witness all the way through this entire passage of Scripture, which teaches us that Jesus is NOT saying that he himself is THE ALMIGHTY God, the Great I AM, who alone is the FATHER is ANY verse in the New Testament. In other words, IF Jesus was truly saying that he himself IS the I AM, then Jesus would be saying that he is the FATHER himself and there would be only ONE bearing witness. But Jesus said that he was NOT ALONE and that the Father was WITH him bearing witness of his SON Jesus. So I myself believe the words of Jesus himself OVER the INTERPRETATIONS of men dogmatically demanding the Jesus is saying that he is Yahweh Himself. Jesus said that he came OUT FROM God. Please read the study “JOHN 16:27,28 JESUS CAME OUT FROM GOD!”) 18. I am ONE that bears witness of myself, AND the Father that SENT me bears witness of me. (Again, We see TWO separate persons that bear witness that Yahweh the Father sent his SON Jesus to show us the FATHER to be the ONLY true God, according to John 17:1-3) 19. Then said they unto him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You neither know me nor my Father: if you had known me, you should have known my Father also. (Here again, we see Jesus speaking of TWO separate persons. We see Jesus himself and we the Father OF Jesus. Yes, I understand that a Son can also be a Father but he is the father of another son and NOT the father of himself) 20. These words spoke Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. 21. Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, you cannot come. 22. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he said, Whither I go, you cannot come. 23. And he said unto them, You are from beneath; I am FROM above: you are of this world; I am NOT of this world. (Meaning that you have an earthly father but I Jesus have a heavenly Father and I do my Father's will and you do your father's will. Now, like it or not, all unsaved people have Satan as their father BUT they can turn to have Yahweh as their heavenly Father any time they CHOOSE. Jesus also said in John 17:14-16 that WE are from ABOVE and NOT OF this world in the SAME manner that Jesus is from ABOVE and NOT of the world. And we did NOT come down from heaven in order to be from ABOVE. Being from ABOVE simply means that we are the WORKMANSHIP OF Yahweh from ABOVE and NOT our own workmanship. We no longer have Satan from BELOW as being your father. And the same is true of Jesus to be MADE the Messiah BY Yahweh Himself PERFORMING His own word of PROPHECY) 24. THEREFORE, I said unto you (In verse 21), that you shall die in your sins: for (Or BECAUSE) if you believe NOT that I am HE, you shall die in your sins. (This verse 24 is the verse in question that is used by those who teach the doctrine of the Trinity AND the doctrine of Oneness to DOGMATICALLY teach that if you do NOT believe that Jesus is saying that he is the Great I AM THAT I AM in Exodus 3:14, then you shall die in your sins and you shall NOT be saved UNLESS you recant and believe that Jesus is THE ALMIGHTY God Himself. And to Oneness Christians that means that you MUST believe that Jesus IS the FATHER Himself or you will die in your sins. Again, both Oneness Christians and Trinitarian Christians argue that the pronoun “he” is NOT in the original Greek and it SHOULD be translated as “I AM”. But as we have just learned the UNDERSTOOD pronoun “he” is indeed in the text much like the pronoun “you” is often left out of a particular sentence but the context clearly reveals to us that the subject under discussion is the UNDERSTOOD “YOU”. So in the same way the “HE” here is clearly UNDERSTOOD that Jesus is speaking of himself. This is why the translators added the word “he”. For you see, those who understand the original Greek text clearly UNDERSTAND that the pronoun “he” is clearly UNDERSTOOD. But WHO is Jesus saying that he himself IS? We must read the CONTEXT and then COMPARE Scripture with Scripture in order to learn WHO Jesus is TRULY saying that he IS. So then, let us continue reading the CONTEXT. And then we will compare Scripture with Scripture after we finish reading the context) 25. Then said they unto him, WHO ARE YOU? (In other words, the Jews were saying, I am he, WHO? WHAT do you MEAN, Jesus, when you say I AM HE? WHO are you saying that you ARE when you say I AM HE. Also, please notice that these Jews did NOT understand these words of Jesus to mean that Jesus was saying that he himself is the great I AM the ONE TRUE and ONLY ALMIGHTY God, because if Jesus were truly saying that he is the ALMIGHTY God, then these Jews would have stoned Jesus on the spot. The TRUTH of the matter is that these Jews understood these words of Jesus to mean exactly what Jesus was saying, which is simply “I am [he]”. Again, these Jews thought he WHO? And that is WHY they asked Jesus WHO are YOU?) And Jesus said unto them, Even the SAME that I said unto you from the BEGINNING (There is your answer to WHO Jesus was TRULY saying that he IS. Jesus is saying I am the SAME that I told you in the BEGINNING. So then, we need to go back to the BEGINNING of the ministry of Jesus in order to learn WHO Jesus is TRULY saying that he IS. For you see, the beginning of creation is NOT the beginning that Jesus is referring to. NOR is the beginning in John 1:1 the beginning that Jesus is referring to. John 1:1 is a “commentary” written by the Apostle John as a record of HOW Jesus BECAME Jesus. The beginning that Jesus is referring to is the beginning of his MINISTRY where Jesus told the Jews that he is the one PROPHESIED in the Scriptures. We find in the Gospel of Luke chapter 4 that Jesus said that he was the ANOINTED ONE of Almighty God the Father that was SENT by the Father the preach the gospel of salvation. We will take a look at Luke chapter 4 in a moment, but first, let us finish the CONTEXT to learn even MORE about WHO Jesus truly IS) 26. I have many things to say and to judge of you: but He that SENT me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him. 27. They understood NOT that he (Jesus) spoke to them of the Father. (Now, Oneness Christians STOP right hear and they “interpret” this verse to mean that Jesus is saying that he himself IS the FATHER just because the Jews dod NOT understand that the words Jesus spoke are the word of Almighty God the Father, In other words, Oneness Christians cherry-pick verse 24,25, and 27 OUT of their CONTEXT skipping right over verse 26 and ignoring the rest of the context in the verses that follow. THINK for your selves my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are Oneness Christians. You argue John 8:58 that the REASON the jews picked up stone to stone Jesus is because they knew that Jesus was saying that he is the Great I AM THAT I AM in Exodus 3:14. But yet, here in John 8:24,25,27 you which is well BEFORE verse 58 that the Jews BELIEVE and ACCEPT Jesus as being Yahweh the FATHER Himself and they do NOT pick up stones to stone Jesus. So you are CONTRADICTING your OWN arguments to try and prove that Jesus is Yahweh Himself. Keep reading because Jesus is still yet telling us WHO he IS) 28. Then said Jesus unto them, When you have lifted up the Son of MAN, then shall you know that I am HE, and that I do NOTHING OF MYSELF; but as MY Father has taught me, I speak these things. (Now IF Jesus was truly saying in verse 24 that he HIMSELF is THE ALMIGHTY God, then there is NO WAY that Jesus would turn around a few verses later and say that he could do NOTHING OF HIMSELF. Think this through for YOURSELF my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ. WHY would an ALMIGHTY God say that he could do NOTHING OF HIMSELF? The answer is quite obvious when you truly stop and THINK for yourself. Jesus never said that he himself is THE I AM THAT I AM, the ALMIGHTY God. But rather, Jesus was saying that he was the SAME one that he said to the Jews that he was in the beginning of his ministry to the Jews. Again, we will take a look at Luke chapter 4 shortly) 29. And He that SENT me is WITH me: the Father has NOT left me ALONE; for I do always those things that please Him. (Again, we see TWO separate persons, the Father and the SON. CLEARLY, Jesus was NOT saying that he was THE I AM THAT I AM in verse 24 because the CONTEXT clearly teaches us that Almighty God the FATHER was WITH the Son of MAN, Jesus. It does NOT say that the Father was not alone because the father was with Himself. It does NOT say that Yahweh was not alone because Yahweh was with Himself. The Jews finally understood that Jesus was NOT ALONE because the Father who is the Great I AM THAT I AM was WITH His HUMAN SON, Jesus, the one PROPHESIED to come to be the MESSIAH) 30. As he spoke these words, many believed on him. (Again, THINK for yourselves my dear brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ who are Oneness and Trinitarian Christians. WHY would the Jews BELIEVE that Jesus IS Yahweh Himself in verse 24 and NOT pick up stones to stone him and then turn around in verse 58,59 to pick up stones to stone Jesus for saying BEFORE Abraham I AM? I mean, IF SO BE that Jesus is saying that he is Yahweh Himself in BOTH of these verses, verse 24 and verse 58, then WHY did the Jews believe and receive the words of Jesus in verse 24 but they rejected the words of Jesus in verse 58 and they picked up stones to stone him in verse 59? Can you not see that both Oneness and Trinitarian Christians CONTRADICT their OWN argument? Can you not see that Jesus would never contradict himself by saying that he is the Messiah in one verse and then turn around and say that he is the Great I AM THAT I AM in another verse?) 31. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If you CONTINUE in my word, then are you, my disciples, indeed; 32. And you shall know the TRUTH, and the truth shall make you free.”
Now, one could try and argue away the TRUTH by saying that only SOME of the Jews believed that Jesus is Yahweh Himself in the flesh while OTHER Jews in verse 58 rejected the words of Jesus saying that he is the Great I AM that I am in the flesh because they did not understand the Scriptures. Thus they THOUGHT that Jesus was speaking blasphemy by saying that he is Yahweh come in the flesh. One could rogue that John 1:1 says the Word was God and that means that Jesus IS Yahweh Himself and that is why Jesus said “I AM” in John 8:58 and “I AM HE” in 14 other verses in the Bible. But the Apostle John who WROTE the Gospel of John said that the REASON that he wrote the Book of John was so that we would believe that Jesus is the CHRIST, the SON OF God so that we might have eternal life in the world to come. So when we read John 1:1 as a PROPHECY as opposed to reading John 1:1 as HISTORY of eternity past then we can truly see the REASON for WHY the Apostle John wrote the Gospel of John. For you see, who better to know the TRUE meaning of John 1:1 than the WRITER OF John 1:1? My Bible has little “Titles” to summarize sections of the Bible so I will include that title which is not actually a part of the original Scriptures. Please read John 20:30,31. The Purpose of This Book “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31. BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN, (Or all the things that I the Apostle John have recorded as the record of who Jesus is) THAT (Or so THAT) you might BELIEVE that Jesus IS the CHRIST, the SON OF God; and that believing you might have LIFE (Speaking of the divine nature of ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come) through his name.” So then, since the Apostle John himself specifically told us that the reason that he wrote the Gospel of John is so that we would believe that Jesus is the “Christ”, the SON OF God, then I myself am going to believe the Scriptures over the INTERPRETATIONS of the Scriptures that CONTRADICT other verses in the Bible. And through much study and prayer, this is what I have concluded is the TRUE SOUND Biblical meaning of John 1:1. I will take it slow so that even a small child can teach this to others. The Bible teaches us that God DECLARED the END from the BEGINNING, according to Isaiah 46:10, Isaiah 48:5, and several other verses of Scriptures. So let us look at the END of the fulfillment of what Yahweh PROPHESIED to learn the true meaning of John 1:1. Please read Revelation 21:1-8. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (The phrase “NO MORE sea” is symbolic language for NO MORE WICKEDNESS and sin) 2. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things NEW. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” So then, the END or the completion of God so great a plan of salvation will be that all the wicked will be judged unworthy to receive eternal life and cast into the Lake of Fire to be destroyed. And then, Yahweh Himself will create a new heaven and a new earth for His NEW CREATION of righteous people to INHERIT which INCLUDES Jesus, the SON OF God. And God declared or PROPHESIED the finished end from the BEGINNING. That is how God CREATED all things. God SPOKE the END from the BEGINNING. So God started with an image in His mind of the finished END of SIN and then devised His plan of salvation to reach the END of SIN for all eternity. And that is HOW we should read John 1:1 and the whole Bible. What is the END goal? But for centuries Christians have been reading John 1:1 as HISTORY. And not just history, but the history of ETERNITY PAST. In other words, Christians have been “INTERPRETING” John 1:1 as the history of the original creation in eternity past. But yet, the whole theme of the Bible itself is about SALVATION and the END of SIN for eternity future. So humor me and at least try to read John 1:1 as PROPHECY and with the understanding that the “BEGINNING” is NOT the original beginning in eternity past. But rather the “beginning” in John 1:1 is the beginning to the SOLUTION of the ENDING of SIN for all eternity future. With this at the forefront of your mind, let us no read my own translation of John 1:1. My OWN translation of John 1:1. “In [A] beginning was the SAYING and the SAYING was TOWARD THE God and [A] God was the SAYING” So then, “A” God was the END goal to JUDGE Lucifer and the fallen angels and consequently fallen humans as well who REJECT God’s so great a salvation. But because God is at WAR He needed to keep His PLAN of salvation a SECRET from His enemy Lucifer who is called Satan, the Devil. God knowing His ENEMY, Satan, would not obey Him, God outsmarted him by creating the FIRST Adam while all the time having the LAST Adam in His mind and plan BEFORE all other humans. This is why Jesus said BEFORE Abraham I am. This is why John the Baptist said that Jesus was BEFORE him even though John the Baptist was born before Jesus. This was WHY the Law of Moses contained in ordinances was just TEMPORARY until the Messiah came. All these things that are now history were in the MIND and PLAN of God before God ever began to RESTORE the earth to once again be inhabitable. The PROPHECY in Isaiah 9:6,7 says that a CHILD will be born FIRST and then a Son would be given and THEN the Son of MAN would be CALLED by the NAME a mighty God and the everlasting father. Other prophecies say that God would highly exalt His FIRSTBORN Son to be a King higher than the kings of the earth. In other words, the spoken word of prophecy would be made FLESH first and then God would GLORIFY that man of FLESH to become the King of kings and the Lord of lords to rule as the God of the whole earth in the world to come FOR Yahweh for 1000 years. And then comes the END, the final judgment and the destruction of all the wicked in the Lake of Fire when Yahweh will judge the world BY the MAN Jesus, the Christ. Jesus will then STEP DOWN from ruling and commit the “God” title of ruling in the NAME of Yahweh back into the hands of his God and Father’s hands. So to ME, the “interpretation” of reading John 1:1 as PROPHECY agrees with every verse in the Bible. And in the studies “JOHN 1:1 THE WORD WAS GOD!” and “WHAT DOES JOHN 1:1 TRULY MEAN?” I will bring forth evidence that the Greek word “TRANSLATED” as the “Word” was not always capitalized. And in older English translations BEFORE the King James Version the Greek word “logos” was referred to as an “IT” as opposed to a “he” like the modern translations. One translation even says the SAYING was TOWARD the God which CLEARLY teaches us that the “logos” was INTENDED to be understood as God SPOKEN word of PROPHECY and NOT as some pre-existing God the Son in eternity past. But for now, let us look at the remaining five Old Testament verses of Scripture that have the phrase “I AM HE” in them. We have already looked at Isaiah 52:6 and we have found the Oneness and Trinitarian INTERPRETATION to be in error. Here are the reaming five “I AM HE” verses that are used to TRY and prove that Jesus IS Yahweh Himself it the flesh. Let us go ahead and read all five verses together out of their context because that is how Oneness and Trinitarian Christians use these verses out of their context. BUT I will read them out of chronological order saving the first verse in Isaiah 41:10 until last which Oneness and Trinitarian Christians usually do not ever mention.
Isaiah 43:10.
“You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me, there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.”
Isaiah 43:13.
“Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?”
Isaiah 46:4.
“And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
Isaiah 48:12.
“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”
Isaiah 41:4.
“Who has wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.”
Now, since Isaiah 41:4 was written before the other five verses above we will start with Isaiah 41:4 to see what the phrase “I AM HE” is truly meaning in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God by keeping verse 4; in its context.
Please read Isaiah 41:1-4,
“Keep silence before Me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment. (This last phrase is sometimes interpreted by Trinitarian Christians as being a Trinity God of three separate persons because of the pronoun “us”. But even if this verse is intended to mean Yahweh and His Son, Jesus, in eternity past, there is no THIRD person in this context) 2. WHO raised up the righteous MAN from the east, (Speaking of Yahweh the creator and Father of all and the NOW highly exalted Son of MAN, Jesus. And WHO) called him to his foot, (And WHO) gave the nations before him, and (WHO) made him rule over kings? He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. (Oe Yahweh GAVE then dust to His sword, Jesus and to His bow, Jesus or to His bow the saints) 3. He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet. (I believe that the phrase his feet is speaking of the saints who are given the HONOR to execute the judgment of Yahweh WITH Jesus, according to Psalm 149:9) 4. WHO has wrought and done it, (Or WHO has WORKED and done these things BY) CALLING the generations from the beginning? (Or BY PROPHESYING all these things and then PERFORMING His own word of PROPHECY?) I the LORD, the first, and WITH the last; I am he.... (Or I Yahweh am the one who devised this so great a plan of salvation and the MAN who I raised up in righteousness is he who TOGETHER with me have defeated my enemy DEATH to end SIN for all eternity) ...13. For I the LORD your God will hold your right hand, saying unto you, Fear not; I will help you. 14. Fear not, you worm Jacob, (Or fear not you CRIMSON grub whose garment are covered in RED) and you men of Israel; I will help you, says the LORD, AND (Also says) your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (The MAN I raised up in RIGHTEOUSNESS to be your Messiah first and NOW to be your King and the God over the whole earth whom I MADE to RULE. I am WITH the LAST for he is MY WORKMANSHIP whom I have MADE) 15. Behold, I will make you (Speaking of Yahweh making Jesus) a new sharp threshing INSTRUMENT having teeth: you shall thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shall make the hills as chaff. (Jesus will execute the first half of God’s WRATH) 16. You shall fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and you shall rejoice in the LORD and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel. (This last phrase can be interpreted in several ways. It can be interpreted as You my Son shall rejoice in Yahweh your od and Father and I will glory in you my Holy one of Israel in whom I am well pleased. Or the pronoun you can be referring to the children of Israel rejoicing in Yahweh the Father and giving glory to the now glorified Son of MAN, Jesus that Yahweh MADE both Lord and Christ become the Holy One of Israel their Messiah) 17. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue fails for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, (And ALSO) I the God of Israel will not forsake them.”
Again, verse 17 can be interpreted in several ways as well. For you see, the NAME “Israel” means the one who RULES AS God. So Yahweh could be saying that He is THE ALMIGHTY God OF Israel the MESSIAH where the name “Israel” is a type of figure point to Jesus. As we read the other verses in their context you will see that the name “Jacob” can also be seen as a figure and type pointing to Jesus as God’s ELECT servant who Yahweh has ANOINTED. So let us continue with the remaining three verses with the phrase “I AM HE” in them that are used to try and prove that Jesus IS Yahweh Himself in the flesh.
Isaiah 43:10.
“You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: (Remember that I said that the verb “am” is NOT in the original text. So to me, this verse is speaking of TWO separate persons where the one person was FORMED to became [A] God by Yahweh to rule FOR Yahweh during the world yet to come for 1000 years. So this verse should read That you may know and believe Me and understand I [know, believe and understand] he) before me there was no God FORMED, neither shall there be after me.”
Let us read Isaiah 43:10 in its immediate context and allow me a little freedom to explore OTHER meanings of these Hebrew words in these verses so you can see the TRUE sound biblical mean of ALL the “I AM HE” and the “I AM” verses of Scripture.
Please read Isaiah 43:10-15.
“You are my witnesses, says the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen: that you may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me (Or before him) there was no God FORMED, neither shall there be after me. (Or neither shall there ever be another God formed after him) 11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me, there is no savior. (Meaning I Yahweh, the FIRST Yahweh am the CREATOR of the LAST Yahweh the God I FORMED for you, and apart from me without me that is NO Savior. I have CHOSEN my Servant whom I have raised in righteousness to be your Savior) 12. I have declared, and have saved, (Or and I have SAVED BY way OF what I have DECLARED to come to pass) and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you: (Or I have declared and shown you in my word of prophecy BEFORE there was not yet a strange god among you) THEREFORE, you are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. (Or I Yahweh am that strange God that I FORMED by performing my own word of PROPHECY. Here him because you desired a King that you could see. Obey him for he is my servant whom I have EXALTED to be your King and your God) 13. Yea, before the day was I am he; (Or I [am] he, as in, I am the FIRST Yahweh who had in my mind and plan BEFORE the day was to FORM the LAST Yahweh, a MAN whom I would highly exalt to rule FOR me in MY NAME for 1000 years. Behold your God that I FORMED from the womb of the Virgin Mary) and there is none that can deliver out of My hand: I will work, and who shall let IT? (Speaking of the WORKMANSHIP of Yahweh the ONLY TRUE God who ALONE is the Father, the ONE God in ONE person who exalts and SETS the ones He chooses to be Gods under and subject to Him) 14. Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. (Or Thus says Yahweh, For your SAKE I have sent your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel to Babylon [And through My hand, Jesus, I] have brought down all their nobles and the Chaldeans whose cry is in the ships) 15. I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.”
Or I am Yahweh the CREATOR of your Holy one, ISRAEL your King. Remember that I said that the name “Israel” means one who RULES AS God? Here is how E-Sword defines the name “Israel”.
H3478 יִשְׂרָאֵל yiśrâ'êl yis-raw-ale' From H8280 and H410; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: - Israel.
So both the name Israel and the name Jacob mean “He will RULE AS God”. There are two verses in the Bible where God changed Jacob’s name to Israel to no more be called Jacob. And both of those verses are what I call the ALEPH and TAV verses. The Aleph and the Tav are the first and the last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Jesus said that he is the FIRST and the LAST. Could have Jesus been referring to the untranslated Aleph and Tav as TESTIFYING of him since Jesus also said that the Scripture testifies of him? The Aleph and the tav are found together by themselves some 7,000 times in the Bible and they are rarely translated. And many times you can simply translate the Aleph and the Tav as Messiah, Jesus, because you can clearly see that the verse is a type or a figure pointing to Jesus. Let us go ahead and read the verse in Genesis 35: 9-12 where God changes the name of Jacob to Israel.
Genesis 35:9-12.
“And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram and blessed him. 10. And God said unto him, Your name is Jacob: Your name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be your name: and He called (ALEPH TAV or Messiah, Jesus) his name Israel. 11. And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of you, and kings shall come out of your loins; 12. And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to you I will give it, and to your seed after you will I give (ALEPH TAV or Messiah, Jesus) the land.
This brings us to the last two “I AM HE” verses in the Old Testament. And so far NONE of the “I AM HE” verses prove that Jesus himself IS Yahweh. But rather, these verses actually prove that Jesus is the WORKMANSHIP OF Yahweh.
Isaiah 46:4.
“And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”
This verse is actually Yahweh speaking to the children of Israel about their false idols of gold and silver and Yahweh is assuring them that He will bear, carry, and deliver them. But further down in verses 9-13, Yahweh is saying that in former times there were “limited” Gods that He formed. And in the future, Yahweh is calling a ravenous bird of prey to deliver the children of Israel.
Isaiah 46:9-13.
“ Remember the former things of old: (Or more precisely, be mindful of ancient times. In other words, be aware that there were ancient times before the human race was created) for I [am] God, [and there is] none else; [I am] God, [and there is] none like me, (There are a lot of added words by the translators. A word-for-word translation is For I El, or I, God, none else God none like me. But the two Hebrew words translated as “none” are two completely different Hebrew words. So to me, this literally reads For I God none further Elohim no further like me. In other words, Yahweh is talking about Lucifer and the fallen Elohim. Let us read it all together. “Be aware of FORMER things of ancient times that I [am] God [and] no further the ELOHIM [are] no further like me”) 10. 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: (In other words, Yahweh is making some changes from the ancient times. Lucifer is being dethroned and another is being PROMOTED to replace him) 11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the MAN that executes my counsel from a far country: (Or calling the Eagle from the East risen far off the earth, the MAN that executes my counsel [as in, Yahweh’s commands are his commands) yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it. (Or what Yahweh has PROPHESIED Yahweh will PERFORM and bring it to pass) 12. Hearken unto me, you stouthearted, (Or hearken unto me you bulled headed. The word “heart” carries the meaning of the “mind”, the way of thinking) that are far from righteousness: 13. I bring near My righteousness; it shall not be far off, and My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation IN Zion for (Or OF, IN) Israel (Meaning He who will RULE AS God) my glory.”
Please read Hebrews 12:22-24.
“But you have come unto mount Sion, (Or to the Kingdom of ZION) and unto the CITY of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 23. To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.”
This brings us to the last “I AM HE” verse.
Isaiah 48:12.
“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.”
Both Oneness Christians and Trinitarian Christians us this verse to try and prove the Jesus is Yahweh Himself. And just reading the English King James Version it seems as IF Yahweh is saying that He is both the FIRST and ALSO the LAST. And IF this is the correct translation then the Oneness Christians would have at least one verse of Scripture to somewhat support their Oneness doctrine that states the Father is the Son and the Son IS the Father whose name is Jesus. BUT the Hebrew word translated as “ALSO” means “ACCESSION” and “WITH”. Here is how E-Sword defines this Hebrew word translated in the KJV as “also”.
H637 אַף 'aph af A primitive particle; meaning accession (used as an adverb or conjugation); also or yea; adversative though: - also, + although, and (furthermore, yet), but, even, + how much less (more, rather than), moreover, with, yea.
So then, this verse could just as easily read as follows.
Another way to translate Isaiah 48:12.
“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I am WITH the last.”
The word “ACCESSION” means to ACQUIRE which agrees exactly with Proverbs 8:22. So with this meaning, Isaiah 48:12 word read as follows.
Yet another way to translate Isaiah 48:12.
“Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I ACQUIRED the last.”
I will close this study in God’s word with Proverbs 8:22,23.
Proverbs 8:22,23.
“The LORD possessed me (Or Yahweh ACQUIRED me) in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. 23. I was set up (Or I was ANOINTED to be King) from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.”
Now hear is the true sound Biblical meaning of Proverbs 8:22. For the full study please read “WHAT DOES PROVERBS 8:22-31 TRULY MEAN?”
Proverbs 8:22.
The LORD (Referring to YAHWEH the Lord God Almighty, who we know is the FATHER alone) possessed ME (Speaking of Yahweh possessing Jesus. The word POSSESSED means to acquire, to procure with great care and effort, to create, and to bring forth into existence. This word also means to purchase and to redeem. In other words, God is revealing His THOUGHTS to us of His yet future Son) in the beginning of HIS way, ( Or more precisely, God is making plans for His Son to be the CHIEF of His WAY. All of the meanings of God “possessing” His Son speak of ACQUIRING his SON in the future. So Proverbs chapter 8 is actually teaching us that Jesus not only had a BEGINNING but also, that this passage of Scripture is PROPHECY of yet a future fulfillment concerning Jesus. Proverbs 8:22-31 does NOT teach us of a literal PRE-EXISTING Jesus. In other words. Yahweh acquired WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING which were the THOUGHTS of one day having a righteous Son whom He would highly exalt to become His King of kings and Lord of lords. When you truly take a closer look at Proverbs 8:22-31 in the LIGHT of the entire chapter then you can see that God FORMED THOUGHTS within himself as an IMAGE in His MIND) before HIS WORKS of old.”
The meaning of the word “WORKS” here LITERALLY means PRECEDING his CONTRIVANCES of old. And this word contrivance means that God had his Son in MIND preceding his CLEVERLY DEVISED ingenious PLAN. And God’s PLAN of SALVATION was to have an INNOCENT MAN be SLAIN without cause so that Yahweh could redeem or buy back his creation called the HUMANS that he has not yet created PRECEDING the foundation of the world. And the Hebrew word that is translated as “of OLD” also means Yahweh’s works “AT THAT TIME” Please read the study “WHAT DOES THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD TRULY MEAN?” You see dear children of God, the creation account in Genesis chapter 1 is the RESTORING of the earth some 6,000 years ago and NOT the first original creation of the earth in eternity past. God created a NEW species of beings called the humans a little lower or inferior to his previous creation the ANGELS to replace the 1/3 of the angels that rebelled and made war against God under the leadership of Lucifer who is now known as Satan or the Devil. And Proverbs 8:22-31 is a prophecy that is revealing to us a PART of God's ingenious plan of salvation and to also prove that He created Lucifer perfect in all his ways. And thus, God will clear His own name for His own sake that was being defamed by the false accusation from Lucifer BLAMING God for his own pride-filled sin saying that God created him evil. And thus, according to Satan, it was not his fault that he attacked God’s throne to try and exalt his throne above the stars of God to be like Yahweh. And, therefore, in Satan’s mind, God has no right to judge him. Please read all the studies under the heading >>>WHY ARE WE HERE-IS GOD AT WAR?<<< These studies teach the BIG picture of WHY God even created the human race. And they cover many of the verses that answer many questions Christian have such as WHY does God allow evil in the world? 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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