What Does the Bible truly
say About Jesus?
Here we discuss the part of Osama Abdullah’s website on Answering the Trinity in Great detail. The scope of this paper is to present the Bible truly to the reader and let them evaluate the claims of this Muslim web administrator to see if what he says is true or not. His excerpts are in Green.
Most
Christians today claim that God Almighty came down to earth in a form of a
humanbeing and died for our sins to forgive all of us. This is a belief that I
struggled with for 3 years of my life. I was between Christianity and Islam not
knowing which religion is the right one. I knew that both can not be true. One
of them had to be false.
Trinitanians today base their entire belief
basicly on the following Biblical verses: Isiah 9:6, John 1:1, John 5:58,
Revelations 1:8, Daniel 7:13, and Daniel 7:28. These verses sound like they are
talking about God, but in reality, they are not. Here is my answer to them:
Isiah
9:6. "For there has been a child born to us, there has been a son given to
us; and the princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will
be called Wonderful Counslor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of
Peace."
As this
verse (Isiah 9:6) is broken down and analyzed thoroughly throughout this page,
you will see that for instance: David was called the "O mighty one"
in Psalm 45:3, and "God" in Psam 45:7. Of course this doesn't mean
that David was GOD or Jehova or The Mighty One. Also Moses in Exodus 7:1 was called
"like God" too.
For one thing trinitarians don't base their whole belief on these group of scriptures. In Psalms 45:3 the term used for David isn't ELOHIM in Hebrew so this term of "MIGHTY ONE" can't be used as a defense because if the reader researches this they will find out that Might God is present in Isaiah 9:6 while it's not in Psalms 45:3. This scripture doesn't show that David was God nor does it disprove the idea of Isaiah 9:6 because "God"- Elohim is present in Isaiah 9:6 while just the word in Hebrew for Mighty one is located in Psalms 45:3. Elohim is spelled with an "Aleph" as the first letter while mighty one in Psalms 45:3 is spelled with a "gemel".
Now in this passage Jesus was called "MIGHTY GOD". The Bible only uses this term to describe GOD, just look at Isaiah 10:21-"The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God." This scripture clearly says that Israel shall return to God. In Jeremiah 32:18-"Thou shewest loving kindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name." The same term used for Jesus was used for God- "THE MIGHTY GOD". When you continue down in the passage to 32:20-21-
20
Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day,
and in Israel, and among other men;
and hast made thee a name, as at this
day;
21
And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs,
and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and
with great terror;
You see that "The MIGHTY GOD" brought the Jews out of the land of Egypt as well as performed the signs and wonders. The evidence presented against Jesus not being God doesn't stand up under close scrutiny because the bible says that "Mighty God", along with the Lord of hosts is the name of God.
As for Exodus 7:1 the term applied to Moses and the
Israelites judges is elohim, which is correctly translated as "gods"
having the plural ending "im" in Hebrew. This term shows the
diversity and compound unity when referring to "God" and it is the
reason why the compound word for one "echad" is always applied to a
compound God. Infact when not referring to the Lord God (Yahweh Elohim) this
term denotes beings beside Yahweh. Look at Exodus 20:3 "Thou
shalt have no other gods (elohim) before me."
The
word "God" was used numerous times throughout the Bible to show
someone's special authority throughout the Old Testament. But the GOD of the
Bible is One GOD; see verses Genesis 18:14, Exodus 5:2, 6:3, 15:3, 20:7, 34:6,
Leviticus 19:2, Deuteronomy 4:24, 6:5, 10:17, Isiah 2:6, 16:7, 17:47, Nehemiah
4:14, Psalm 3:8, and Jeramiah 10:10 Where they all talk about Jehova being the
living One God and King
The God of the Bible is one but he is expressed with the word "echad" which means a group working as "ONE", much like a partnership of 3 people in Business. The only word for 1 in Hebrew that means just 1 is yachid. Yachid is never applied to God so the English translation is very Misleading in this aspect. Notice that God is never mentioned as being one and only! Yachid means only or one of its kind.
Now, in
Isiah 9:6 "For there has been a child born to us..............",
let us
look at Isiah 7:14 "Therefore Jehova himself will give you men a sign:
Look ! The maiden herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving
birth to a son (Jesus the same person in Isiah 9:6), and she will certainly
call his name Immanuel." Here in Isiah 7:14 we see Allah Almighty or
Jehova is speaking clearly to the people of Isreal predicting to them the
comming of Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. It doesn't say that
"Jehova" will come down and will be born from that woman
As shown earlier Jesus was called 'THE MIGHTY GOD' just like God. No other person other than God or Jesus in the O.T. was called "THE MIGHTY GOD".
Also,
let us look at Luke 1:34 - 1:35 "But Mary said to the angel: How is this
to be, since I am having no intercourse with a man? In answer the angel said to
her: Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God's
Son." Again, here in this verse we don't see Allah Almighty or Jehova
saying that he will be born from Mary the Virgin. The angel told her that she will have a miracle by becoming
pregnant without intercourse, and she will bring a holy person to life.
First of all if we look at Isaiah 9:6 we see that Jesus is called MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHTER, ETC. In Proverbs 30:4-
Who
has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow
of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established
all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me
if you know!
We see that God has a son. Here in Luke 1:34-35, it says that Jesus was to be called THE SON OF GOD.
Also,
let us look at Mathew 1:18-21 "But the birth of Jesus Christ was in this
way. During the time his mother Mary
was promissed in marraige to Joseph, and was found to be pregnant by holy
spirit before they were united. How
ever, joseph her husband, because he was rightous and did not want to maker her
a public spectacle, inteded to divorce her secretly. But after he had thought these things over, look ! Johovah's
angel appeared to him in a dream, saying:
Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife home, for
that which has been begotten in her is by holy spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you must
call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins". This verse clearly doesn't state that Jehova
was going to be born from Mary the Virgin.
It states that someone other than Jehova who's name will be
"Jesus" will be born from her.
Also,
let us look at John 1:14 "So the word became flesh and resided among us,
and we had a veiw of his glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a
father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth." Again, this verse clealy states that Johova
or Allah didn't come in a form of a man.
It was God's son who came to us.
God's only begotten son. Further
down in my paper you will see the real definition of the word "Son"
and what it really means. The word
"Son" doesn't mean actual biological son at all. You will see it further down.
Let us
look at Luke 2:11 "Because there was born to you today a Saviour, who is
Christ (the) Lord, in David's city."
The word "Lord" in here doesn't mean GOD or Allah Almighty at
all. It simply means the master or the
leader or the teacher or the most respected or the most admired among his
people. But it certainly doesn't refer
to the Creator of this Universe. That
is not what the word Lord means. We use
the word "Lord" alot for "Drug Lords" or "Market
Lords", etc.... They are not
GODs. These Lords are simply powerful
people who have alot of influence on us.
Defining
the meaning of the word "Son":
Now in
Isiah 9:6 "....there has been a son given to us,.........",
Now let
us look at John 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his
only begotten Son, in order that everyone excercising faith in him might not be
destroyed but have everlasting life."
Ironicly, trinitanians from my personal experience with them rely on
this verse (John 3:16) very heavily when trying to prove that Allah or Jehova
came down to earth to die for our sins. They claim that Jesus being God's
unique son, makes him the only Son for God, which ultimately lead us to the
conclusion that Jehova is Jesus.
Also,
let us look at Hebrews 11:17 "By faith Abraham, when God tested him,
offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who
had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son...." Abraham had two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael was 13 years older than Isaac. Yet we see that "his one and only son" expression was
used for Isaac. The Bible uses
expressions like this to magnify people or to glorify someone on a certain
occasion. The Bible in this verse
glorifies Isaac for being the chosen sacrifice to God. So Jesus being God's "only begotten
Son" in John 3:16 doesn't make him God nor the only Son of God.
Now lets talk about Osama’s misunderstanding of “ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”. The word for “ONLY” in the Greek language is
“MONOGENES” which is defined, as the only one of it’s kind. The reason why Christian apologists can
claim this is because we know the meaning of this word “only”. For more information we turn to Strong’s
Concordance of the Bible for the word:
Monogenes
Definition:
1.single of its kind, only a. used of only sons or daughters (viewed in
relation to their parents)
b.used of Christ, denotes the only
begotten son of God
Mr. Osama attempts to use Hebrews 11:17 by claiming that
Abraham has 2 sons and that “only” is used to magnify or to glorify someone on
a certain occasion. This tries to discredit
the meaning of “Monogenes”, only in Greek.
But if we read Hebrews 11:17-18- “By faith
Abraham when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the
promises offered up his only (monogenes) begotten son of whom it was said, IN
ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED.”
This is why we see that Isaac was called Abraham’s only begotten son because it was through Isaac “ONLY” and ALONE and not Ishmael in which Abraham’s seed would be established. There are many in the Bible that was called SONS, but there is only one person that is called GOD’S ONLY BEGOTTEN SON. This person was Jesus. This is something Mr. Osama can’t discredit because all one has to do is to go to any online Greek Concordance and check out the word “MONOGENES”.
Now,
Let us look at Exodus 4:22 "Thus saith Jehova, Isreal is my son, even my
firstborn." Here we see in this
verse that Isreal is not only God's so called "Son", but also his
first born !!. Does this mean that
Jehova is Isreal? Does it mean that we
must worship Isreal as Jehova or Allah?
Of course not !!!
Also,
let us look at Jeremiah 31:9 "I am a father to Isreal, and Ephraim is my
firstborn." Ephraim in this verse
means Isreal. This verse is similar to
Exodus 4:22.
Let us
also look at Psalm 2:7 "....Jehova had said onto me (David), thou art my
Son; this day have I begotten thee."
Here in this verse we see that God not only called David his
"Son", but also had made him his begotten Son !!!.
Mr. Osama tries hard to equate “firstborn” to “only” in Greek. To anyone who looks at these scriptures you can easily see that both Ephraim and David wasn’t called GOD’S ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.
Swapping
Game: Let us play a little swapping
game between the verses of John 3:16, Exodus 4:22, Jeremiah 31:9, and Psalm
2:7. Let us take "his only
begotten Son" from John 3:16 and replace it in Exodus 4:22, and let us
take "even my firstborn" from Exodus 4:22 and replace it in John
3:16.
Do you
honestly think that the little swap game above would change anything in the
meaning? Would you still have believed
in Jesus as Jehova if the above swap was true?
The
above swap proves that the word "Son" doesn't mean actual biological
"Son" at all. It just means
that Jesus is a "Son" of Jehova in a way that Jehova loved him so
much that he chose him to be his messenger to the people of Isreal.
For one thing in order to do the swapping game we must take two phrases from 2 totally different languages and replace them with each other!!!! You can’t do this since Exodus was written in ancient Hebrew while John 3:16 was written in 1st century Greek! Tell me Osama, how can you substitute a Greek Phrase into a Hebrew one? Hebrew is written from right to left while Greek is written from left to right! This is impossible! So why does Osama ask us to swap? Easy, simply because he relies on a English translation of the Bible. There are many excellent Hebrew and Greek language texts and concordances that can be used to check the English translations of the Bible, not to mention the online Biblical resources. I have the Whole Bible in Hebrew and Greek, literally translated word for word as well as a Hebrew and Greek dictionary. If Mr. Osama wants to discuss Christianity why not purchase one of these?
If David wanted to put “ONLY” into Psalms 2:7, etc then yachid that is “only” in Hebrew would’ve been used. So tell us Osama how does swapping two different terms from two totally different languages disprove son?
Jesus
worshiping his God:
Let us
look at Luke 5:16 "And he (Jesus) withdrew himself into the wilderness and
prayed to his God." Here we see
that Jesus had a God, a supreme God, who is higher than him and stronger than
him. Jesus was God's servant and he prayed
to God so God would strengthen him more and reinforce him with patience and
desire to continue his mission in spreading the word of God Almighty.
If we go to the Greek Text, we find out that the word for God, which is “Theos”, isn’t present at all!
From Greek: Autos de en Hupochoreo en ho Eremos kai
Proseuchomai
Why does Mr. Osama have to add words to the scripture in order to prove his point? I challenge anyone to go and check out every bible out there and find “praying to his God” in it. You won’t find it because it doesn’t exist.
Let us
look at Luke 22:29 "and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father (my
GOD) has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom,". Here we see that Jesus came down to serve Jehova's
Kingdom. It wasn't Jehova who was in
Jesus in this verse. It was Jesus the
Messenger of God who was serving his God's Kingdom, Jehova's Kingdom.
If we read in the next verse we see that Jesus said – “that you may eat and drink at MY TABLE IN MY KINGDOM…” If Jesus was serving Jehovah’s Kingdom like Osama claims, then why did he say IN MY KINGDOM? When we look at this we clearly see that Jesus is claiming God’s kingdom to be HIS KINGDOM. Mr. Osama doesn’t put these scriptures because he expects the readers not to go and check for themselves. I’ve been on his discussion board, on his site, and I’ve seen Muslims say wow, your site is very informative, etc. It looks that way on the surface until someone goes and actually researches what Osama claims.
Let us
look at 2 Samuel 7:13 -14 "He
(David) is the one that will build a house for My Name (Jehova's Name), and I
shall certainly establish the throne of his kingdom firmly to time indefinite. I myself shall become his Father (His
Guardian or Inspirer), and he himself will become my son. When he does wrong, I will also reprove him
with the rod of men and with the strokes of the sons of Adam." In this verse, we see that David who came
before Jesus had done the same thing to God as Jesus did. David was a king, leader, and a messenger
from God. It doesn't say that Jehova is
in David, nor it says that David is Jehova.
The same way we interpret 2 Samuel 7:13-14 and all the verses about David should be the same way we should
interpret the Verses that talk about Jesus.
Jesus is not Jehova, nor ever was.
Now lets look at 2 Samuel 7:13-14. Osama tries to downplay the meaning of “HE HIMSELF WILL BE MY SON”. So I want to ask him this question, was anybody except Jesus called “GOD’S ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”? Remember, the word for only is yachid and monogenes in Hebrew and Greek respectively. If I was a martial arts Sensei and I called one of my students ‘MY SON’ is it the same like being called “MY ONLY BEGOTTEN SON”? No. With that being said lets show you how deceitful Mr. Osama really is with this passage.
He purposely misinterprets 2 Samuel 7:13-14 and tries to make it David when it actually refers to Jesus! Don’t believe me, Read 2 Samuel 7:12 –“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed AFTER YOU, WHO WILL COME FROM YOUR BODY, AND I WILL ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM.” Notice how if the reader starts at vs. 8 of the passage and continue down you will see that it’s talking about a SEED AFTER DAVID AND NOT DAVID. When you see this it shows you that 1.) Osama probably copied and pasted this information from another site or 2.) He purposely left it out to fool his reader. I’ll let the readers decide for themselves.
Let us
look at Revelation 19:16 "And upon his (Jesus) outer garment, even upon
his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." Here we see that Jesus was called the King
of all Kings and the Lord (leader or master) of all Lords (masters). It doesn't prove anything about Jesus being
Jehova, nor ever talks about Jehova.
Mr. Osama also lies about this passage because if the reader reads Revelation 19:12-16-
12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are
many crowns. He has a name
written on him that no one knows but he himself.
13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name
is the Word of God.
14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on
white horses and dressed in
fine linen, white and clean.
15 Out of his
mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.
"He will rule them with an iron
scepter." He treads the winepress
of the fury
of the wrath of God Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.
We see that Jesus was called 1.) The Word of God, 2.) The Ruler of ALL Nations, and 3.) The carrier of the wrath of God himself. Mr. Osama doesn’t have any knowledge of the word lord “Kurios” in Greek. Strong concordance says this about the word when it refers to the Messiah- 1.he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord a. the possessor and disposer of a thing 1.the owner; one who has control of the person, the master. b.is a title of honour expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master c.this title is given to: God, the Messiah. When referring to Jesus, it has always meant a sign of divinity. Since this term has always applied to God and the Messiah and Muslims believe that Christ is the Messiah then this clearly shows just how divine Jesus really is. If Osama wants to teach about Christianity he should go out and purchase a Greek concordance and interlinear text. You don’t have to know Greek to find this stuff out. What do you have to lose Osama?
Let us
look at Mathew 28:18-20 "And Jesus approached and spoke to them, saying:
All authority (from GOD) has been given me in heaven and on the earth. Go therefore
and make disciples of people of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (GOD's inspiration),
teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And look! I am with you all the days until the
conclusion of the system of things." Here in this verse we have few points
that trinitanians often confuse. Trinitanians use this verse very heavily to
try to prove that Jehova or Allah is 3 in 1, meaning that GOD is the father +
Jesus + The Holy Spirit .
This
claim is a false one, because when Jesus said in Mathew 28:18-20".....All
authority (from GOD) has been give to me in heaven and on the earth...."
it clearly shows that Jesus had a stronger or higher power over him. One has to
ask himself a very simple question here: How can GOD say that GOD had given him
authority? It doesn't make any sense, does it?
Also,
when Jesus in Mathew 28:18-20 said ".....baptizing them in the name of the
Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit (GOD'S
inspiration)...." he didn't say go and baptize people in my name (Jehova).
He mentioned his GOD first, then himself (GOD'S messenger), and in GOD's
inspiration (The Holy Spirit). This clearly disproves the claim that GOD IS
THREE = GOD+JESUS+HOLY SPIRIT.
Osama claims that this passage is false based on his own opinion. Now lets the reader read the whole passage of Matt 28:1-20-
1 In
the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment
white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became
as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear
not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come,
see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is
risen from the dead;
and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there
shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with
fear and great joy;
and did run to bring his disciples word.
9 And
as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the
feet, and worshipped him.
10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my
brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch
came into the
city, and
shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and
had taken counsel, they gave large
money unto the soldiers,
13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and
stole him away while we slept.
14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will
persuade him, and secure you.
15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught:
and this saying
is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee,
into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17 And when they
saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, 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 alway, even unto the end of the
world. Amen.
Anyone reading clearly sees that these comments made by Jesus came after his resurrection. The angels in Matt 28:5-6 gave testament of Christ's crucifixion and told the people present that Christ has risen.
Mr. Osama says that Jesus had a stronger or higher power over him. This passage doesn't give evidence to this because when Jesus said this, he had already risen from the dead which was the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12. Also if Christ said that all power was given unto him in heaven and earth that is telling us that Christ equates himself with God. In Isaiah 6:3 it says the whole earth is filled with God's Glory. If Jesus said that "All power is given unto him, then he was Go since Isaiah explicitly says that the earth is filled only with the glory of God
Look at Hab 3:3-- God came from Teman, and the Holy One from mount Paran. Selah. His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. Again the Bible says that God's glory covers the heavens and earth full of his praises. Look at Isaiah 40:3-5:
3 The
voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the
LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our
God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and
hill shall be
made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and
the rough places plain:
5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all
flesh shall see it together: for
the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it
It says a voice of a man (John the Baptist is the only one who fits this description in the Bible) will prepare the way of the Lord. In vs. 5 it says that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and that ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT. Look at it from a straight unadulterated translation from Hebrew-ISAIAH 40:5-AND HE WILL BE REAVEALED glory of Yahweh and THEY will see all of Mankind together for MOUTH OF YAHWEH HE SPOKE. (John R. Kohlenberger III-"The Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament"). In the Hebrew text the glory of Yahweh was seen and that HE would be the very mouth of Yahweh himself.
Mr. Osama contradicts himself by saying –
"he
(Jesus) didn't say go and baptize people in my name (Jehova). He mentioned his
God first, then himself (God's messenger), and in God's inspiration (the Holy
spirit). This clearly disproves the claim that GOD IS THREE=GOD+JESUS+HOLY
SPIRIT."
1.)He says Jesus never told people to baptize in his name but yet later down he says that Jesus mentioned God then himself for baptizing. This is telling us that Jesus did tell people to baptize in his name along with God's name and the Holy Spirit. Which one is it Mr. Osama? If Jesus never told anyone to baptize in his name why did you say that he mentioned his name after God in Baptism of People?
2.)Mr. Osama calls Jesus "Jehovah". Throughout his paper he equates Jehovah with God (Hajj Allah for Muslims). Now if Jesus wasn't God, why does he call him Jehovah and then say that he's not Jehovah? Jehovah wasn't used in any other name other than for God himself. People like Daniel who had "God" in their name has always used "El" short for "Elohim". Jehovah is never used in description of a human or in a name. Mr. Osama, by trying not to equate Jesus with God does so anyway by calling him JEHOVAH, a name reserved for only God himself.
3.)Mr. Osama says that Jesus was God's messenger and he says that Jesus mentioned God, himself, and the Holy Ghost in Baptizing. He says that this disproves the Trinity. But Isaiah 40:3-5 says that Yahweh (which is Jehovah from Hebrew) would be seen by people and that the person seen would be THE GLORY OF YAHWEH and that HE WILL SPEAK THE VERY WORDS OF YAHWEH. Isaiah 53:12 says the servant would die for his people's sins.
Mr. Osama says this-
Also,
when Jesus in Mathew 28:18-20 said"......teaching them to observe all the
things I have commanded you....." well of course Jesus's disciples needed
to teach people from what Jesus taught them !!!. Jesus was GOD's messenger, and
God's favorite "Son" at that time. GOD had inspired Jesus with all
the teachings that people need to go and preach worshiping Jehova, love and
harmony to all people.
Also,
when Jesus said in Mathew 28:18-20 ".....And look! I am with you all the
days until the conclusion of the system of things." he (Jesus) was
refering to the Holy Spirit that GOD will send to Jesus's disciples through
either Jesus's inpiration or GOD's inspiration to them. This also doesn't prove
that Jesus is Jehova or Allah. We must keep in mind that Jesus was not a normal
humabeing. He was the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords as stated
above in (Revelation 19:16 . He had power from GOD, and he was GOD's favorite
"Son" at that time. Jesus had the power to inspire his followers
through GOD's Power, because GOD allowed him to do that.
Let us
look at Mark 12:29 "The first of all the commandments is, Here, O Isreal:
The Lord our God is one Lord." If trinity was a valid belief, then Mark
12:29 would have said "God is three in one".
This contradicts his own holy book the Quran look at Surah 9:30-And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they!
Mr. Osama himself is guilty of this because Allah says that He takes no "Son". Mr. Osama said that Jesus was God's favorite "SON" at that time. So he does the same thing that Allah forbids. Mr. Osama why do you mention this in your defense of Islam? This is a contradiction to what your own God says. You must not be Islamic since Allah says that only Christians look at Christ as the Son of God. 4.)Here is another contradiction use by Mr. Osama in his defense of Islam-Mark 12:29. If this be the case how come he calls Jesus Jehovah (which means Lord)? That's 2 lords Mr. Osama since you aren't a believer in the triune nature of God. Since God is supposedly just a numerical one then you are making two lords. Also Mr. Osama said that God inspired Jesus in all of his teachings, but then he says that Jesus didn't tell people to baptize in his name, but yet told people later to baptize in his name after mentioning God's name. Since God inspired him like Mr. Osama claims then that means that God has partners which he ascribes to him which contradicts Surah 9:31-They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One Allah. There is no Allah save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)!
By trying to disprove the Trinity Mr. Osama is actually proving it by1.)calling Jesus Jehovah (lord-Yahweh in Hebrew) which is only used to name God, contradicting is unitarian use of Mark 12:29, and his own Holy book the Quran in Surah 9:31. 2.)Using Matthew 28 when it shows what happened after the resurrection when Surah 4:157 says he was never crucified 3.)Saying that all of Jesus revelations was inspired by God when he spoke these words after he was crucified which is direct contradiction of Surah 4:157. 4.)Saying that Jesus revelations was inspired when Allah said that he was caught up before he was crucified Surah 4:157-59. Mr. Osama is saying that Jesus spoke these inspired revelations by God after he was resurrected which is something anyone can see when they read all of Matt 28, instead of picking out just one scripture.
Let us
also look at Acts 3:22 "In fact, Moses said: Jehovah will raise up for you from among your brothers a prophet
like me. You must listen to him
according to all the things he speaks to you." Here we see Prophet Moses peace be upon him predicting the comming
Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. Acts
3:22 didn't say that Jehova will come down to earth in a form of a humanbeing.
Moses said in Acts 3:22 ".....a prophet like me.....", which means
that Jesus will be a humanbeing like Moses.
If Jesus was Jehova or Allah himself, then Moses wouldn't have said
".....a prophet like me.....".
If you look at Osama’s explanation, it is more opinion than facts because there is no way possible for us to believe that Jesus wasn’t God based on if Moses wouldn’t have said “a prophet like me.” Also to show you something else, Osama either has or once had a part on his site talking about Muhammad in the Bible. The scripture of Acts 3:22 he uses is a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15, 19. Osama himself said that Moses was talking about Jesus so why would he use this also to say that it referred to Muhammad? This lets us know That Mr. Osama doesn’t fairly present the truth. Now lets look at the passage of Acts in greater detail. If we start from Acts 3:12-25-
12
When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this
surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had
made this man walk?
13
The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his
servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before
Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that
a murderer be released to you.
15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from
the dead. We are witnesses of this.
16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see
and know was made
strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes
through him that has given this
complete healing to him, as you can all see.
17" Now, brothers, I know that you acted in
ignorance, as did your leaders.
18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold
through all the prophets, saying that his Christ [1] would suffer.
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may
be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
20 and that he may send the Christ, who has been
appointed for you--even Jesus.
21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God
to restore everything, as
he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
22 For Moses said, `The Lord your God will raise up for
you a prophet like me from
among your own people; you must listen to everything
he tells you.
23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely
cut off from among his people.' [2]
24 "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many
as have spoken, have foretold these days.
25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant
God made with your
fathers. He said to Abraham, `Through your offspring
all peoples on earth will be blessed.' [3]
26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to
you to bless you by turning
each of you from your wicked ways."
1.18 Or Messiah; also in verse 20
2.23 Deut. 18:15,18,19
3.25 Gen. 22:18; 26:4
We see that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that Christ fulfilled God’s promise by suffering and dying as well as every prophet from Samuel foretold of that day, in which the crucifixion took place. Mr. Osama then must believe that Jesus was crucified since he used Acts 3:22 which is the very heart of the passage! He goes against the Quran, which claims that Christ was never crucified. Osama is very typical of many Muslim web administrators who foolishly try to discredit the Bible by using scriptures with no content as well as preconceived opinions.
In
Mathew 4:1-2 "Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wildernes to be
tempted by the Devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he
felt hungry." One has to ask himself a very simple question here: Why
would Jesus allow the Devil to lead him to the wilderness to try to tempt him
if he were God? This clearly proves that Jesus is not and can not be God!!!.
Mr. Osama makes a very dubious statement by calling "the spirit" The Devil. The scripture doesn’t say that Jesus was led by the Devil, it said the Spirit (Spirit of the Holy Spirit) led Jesus. Lets look at the terms in Greek the language of the NT. The word for spirit is pneumatos and devil is "diabolus". These 2 words are never the same in Greek. Osama says that this proves that Jesus is not God, but what he claims is false. Why? Because the scripture clearly says that Jesus was led BY THE SPIRIT TO BE TEMPTED BY THE DEVIL!!! Not led by the Devil to be tempted. If the Devil would’ve led Christ then in Greek as well as English, we would’ve seen "Lead by the Spirit of the Devil" not led by the Spirit to be tempted of the Devil.
In
Mathew 4:5-6 "The the devil took him along into the holy city, and he
stationed him upon the battlement of the temple and said to him: If you are a
son of God, hurl yourself down; for it is written He (Jehovah) will give his
angels a charge concerning you, and they will carry you on their hands, that
you may at no time strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: Again
it is written, you must not put Jehovah your God to the test." Here we see
that the devil for the second time tried to tempt Jesus and have him do things
that would make him doubt his GOD Jehovah or Allah. Jesus replied to him by
telling him that no matter what you try to do, you will never be able to test your
GOD (your creator). The devil was trying to have Jehovah or Allah send angels
to Jesus, and Jesus made it clear to the devil that no one can put GOD to the
test, and no one can have GOD do anything without the will of GOD. The devil
will never be able to have Jehovah or Allah send down his angels if Jehovah
didn't will it.
Mr. Osama is using a Jehovah Witness Bible to attack Christianity as a Whole!! That’s the equivalent of me using the Nation of Islam beliefs to attack Islam as a whole! This scripture can’t prove anything either because in Greek the literal translation is "THE SON OF GOD". There is no "a" –"a son of" present in this scripture in Greek. The "a" would be alpha, there is no "a" or alpha, so therefore Osama’s defense is solely based on a purposely mistranslation of the NT!!! If Osama doesn’t believe me, he can ask a Greek expert on this. His site should be named ANSWERING JEHOVAH WITNESS!!! Osama thinks that Jehovah Witness are Christians? Wow that’s hilarious because they were started here in America and they don’t call themselves Christians, one of my close best friends was one. As long as God is plural and the words describing him are plural, there will never be a true Unitarian Christian. Neither them nor the Muslims have an answer for the plurality of God as expressed in the Bible.
In
Mathew 4:8-10 "Again the devil took him along to an unusually high
mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he
said to him: All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of
worship to me. Then Jesus said to him: God away Satan! For it is wirtten, It is
Johovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone, you must render
sacred service." Here we clearly see that after the devil offered Jesus the
world, Jesus told him to go away and to go and worship Allah Almighty or
Jehovah. One has to ask himself a very simple question here: If Jesus was
Jehovah, then how come he didn't tell satan in Mathew 4:8-10 "It is me
whom you must worship" ? Jesus told satan "It is Johovah your God you
must worship", which clearly shows that Jesus is not Jehovah!!!.
Mr. Osama again is using a Jehovah Witness Bible. Osama Don’t you know that Jehovah Witness only holds to about 20 Million members worldwide, while Christianity (the largest religion on Earth) has over 1/3 of the entire population. So why are you using a Jehovah Witness Bible to attack Christianity? Well anyway lets look at Matthew 4:7 closely- It says- Jesus SAID unto him (Satan), it is written again, THOU SHALT NOT TEMPT THE LORD THY GOD. The Jehovah Witness Bible is based on the Same Greek Text like any other English Bible (Anyone of them will tell you that) so lets look at the Greek text and compare the 2. Matt 4:7 is the most important verse: it shows Jesus being God, that’s why Osama didn’t start from this verse using a reliable English Bible. The J.W. version says "Jesus said to him. Again it is written. You must not put Jehovah your God to the test." Now look at the Greek scripture-"Ephe (said) auto (To him) O Iesous (Jesus), Palin (again) genraptai (it
has been written) ouk (Not) Ekpeiraseis (you will tempt/pressure) Kuriou (Lord/Master) Tou (the) Theos (God) sou (of you). The direct translation is "Jesus said to him (satan) you will NOT TEMPT THE LORD GOD OF YOU. Jesus was the only one being tempted and Jesus told Satan "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord your God". Osama is using scriptures that can’t even exist in the original language of the NT. When Jesus told Satan to worship God, he was talking about himself As well as his father. How? 1.) Jesus was the only one being tempted in the desert and the told Satan "ThOU SHALT NOT TEMPT THE LORD THY GOD" 2.)When he told Satan to worship God using the word "HIM". Osama is a Muslim, so he is more familiar with Arabic not Greek or Hebrew.
Let us
look at Isiah 11:2-3 "And upon him the spirit of Jehovah must settle down,
the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsler and of
mightiness, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah; and there will
be enjoyment by him in the fear of Jehovah." In this verse, we clearly see that Jehovah or Allah Almighty will
be with Jesus to guide him, inspire him, and to educate him. That spirit is called the spirit of
Mightness, where God had blessed his messenger Jesus peace be upon him with
that holy spirit. This verse clearly
shows that Jesus is not Jehovah. In
Isiah 11:2 -3 we see GOD Almighty had defined for the meaning of spirit of
Jehovah. It means the spirit knowledge
and knowing the full truth, and the spirit of leading people to the path of
GOD, and finally the spirit of fearing Jehovah, where Jesus must fear Jehovah
and do only what Jehovah command him to do because Jesus is Jehovah's messenger
and not Jehovah himself.
This explanation doesn’t say anything truthful because if one looks at Isaiah 11:2-5, we see that Jesus is coming to judge the Earth and that this would be in the future, just look at “THAT DAY” in vs. 10. This always refer to the day of the lord in the tribulation. I have been studying end time prophecy for 14 years and I know people who’ve been studying 25-50 years. If Osama doesn’t even know this then how can he explain to us about Christianity?
Let us
look at Isiah 42:1 "Look! My servant (Jesus), on whom I keep fast hold! My
chosen one, whom my soul has approved! I have put my spirit in him. Justice to the nations is what he will bring
forth." Here we see clearly that Jehovah or Allah Almighty had called
Jesus his servant. His chosen servant,
whom GOD had put the spirit of guidence (as shown in the previous verse Isiah
11:2-3) into him to guide him and to teach him the truth so he can deliver it
to his people, the people of Isreal and to nations that will recieve his
message. God was talking about Jesus as
his servant and not as himself.
Let us
look at Isiah 52:13 "Look! My servant (Jesus) will act with insight
(inspiration from GOD). He will be in
high station and will certainly be elevated and exalted very much." Here again, we see GOD talking about Jesus
as her servant and not as himself, and is promissing that his servant (Jesus)
will be well respected and well admired.
GOD will inspire Jesus all the way throughout his ministry so they can
learn the full truth. It doesn't prove
anything about Jesus being GOD himself !!!.
Let us
look at Mathew 12:18 "Look! My servant (Jesus) whom I chose, my beloved,
whom my soul approved! I will put my
spirit upon him, and what justice is he will make clear to the
nations." This verse is similar to
Isiah 42:1 where Allah Almighty or Jehova calls Jesus his servant and not
himself, and promises to inspire him all the way through his ministry.
What Osama doesn’t tell his reader is that Christians look on Jesus as a servant too, but he doesn’t show the claims of Jesus. Just look at John 10:31-33:
30 I and the Father are one."
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,
32 but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many
great miracles from the Father.
For which of these do you stone me?"
33 "We are not stoning you for any of these,"
replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy,
because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
Jesus himself said this and they stoned him. So for Osama to say that Jesus wasn’t God because of this matter is fallible since Jesus claimed to be both a servant and God.
Now lets look at Isaiah 52. We see that Jesus is known as a servant but when you continue reading you see especially in Isaiah 53:9 that Jesus was to die!! -And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. “In the Hebrew word rendered “death” is an intensive plural. It has been suggested that it spoke of the violence of Christ’s death, the very pain of which made it like a repeated death” (NKJV, footnote, pg 843, Scoffield, 1989). If we continue reading on we see that the suffering servant, Jesus, dies which again refutes the Quran and Mr. Osama, who is a Muslim. On page 842 of the footnotes we see that the suffering servant passage actually begins at this point. Ironically, Mr. Osama uses this scripture, which shows us that he didn’t know about this matter.
Now,
let us look at John 4:34 "Jesus said to them: My food is for me to do the will of him (Jehova) that sent me and
to finish his work." Here we see clearly that Jesus told his followers
that GOD is higher than him, and Jesus can only do things within Jehova's
will. Also Jesus said that his mission
is to finish the work of Jehovah that was assigned to Jesus peace be upon
him.
When we read John 4:34, we see that Jesus doesn’t say at all that God was higher than him, like Osama claims. Mr. Osama is very good at making claims and accusations that doesn’t exist, this is just another one of his tricks to fool the reader.
Let us
look at John 5:30 "I cannot do a single thing of my own initiative; just
as I hear, I judge; and the judgment that I render is righteous, because I
seek, not my own will, but the will of him that sent me." Here we see two things in this verse: First, Jesus recognized, admited and
preached to his followers that his is nothing special nor have any power in
him. Second, Jesus does nothing of his
own will; he only does the will of GOD who sent him and who inspires him.
Mr. Osama must not know about John 5:17-18 –“But Jesus answered them, My father has been working until now, and I have been working. Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was HIS FATHER, making himself EQUAL WITH GOD.” Literally, “His own Father”-Greek- patera idion. It is clear that the Jews understood that Jesus was claiming to be God.’” (IBID).
Let us
look at John 5:31 "If I (Jesus)
alone bear witness about myself, my witness is not true. There is another that bears witness about
me, and I know that the witness which he bears about me is true." Here we also see that Jesus admits and
preaches to his followers that he is not powerful. The only powerful is GOD, his GOD.
Jesus never mentioned anything about power. Mr. Osama is trying to develop a straw man argument and then refute it to show his reader that Jesus wasn’t powerful. However, talking about a witness is totally different than power. The Greek word for power is “dhynami”, which isn’t present at all in this verse. “The Statement here (5:31) might be paraphrased as follows ‘If I testify about myself, you will say my testimony is not valid.’ Against the charge our Lord, in defending his messianic claims urges the biblical rule of evidence which requires two or three witnesses (Num. 35:30; DT. 17:6; Jn 8:17-18). The additional witnesses are cited in vs. 32-47.” (IBID). Jesus had to have a witness in order to go along with the rules set by God in the OT. It’s amazing how Muhammad never had a single witness to verify his alleged call at the cave. This disqualifies him from being a prophet based on God’s rules.
Let us
look at John 5:36-38 "But I have the witness greater than that of John,
for the very works that my Father (my GOD)assigned me to accomplish, the works
themselves that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father (GOD)
dispatched me. Also, the Father (GOD) who sent me has himself borne witness
about me. You have neither heard his
voice at any time nor ever seen his figure; and you do not have his word
remaining in you, because the very one whome he dispatched you do not
believe." Personally speaking, I never had a single trinitanian explain
this verse to me directly. They always
give me indirect answers that have nothing to do with this verse (John
5:36-38). Here we see Jesus again
clearly defines GOD as greater than him, and he told his followers that they
have never seen GOD nor ever heard his voice.
I don't know what more Allah Almighty and Jesus need to say to prove to
trinitanians that GOD and Jesus are two separate beings !!!.
Let us
look at Deuteronomy 4:12 "And GOD began to speak to you out of the middle
of the fire. The sound of words was
what were you hearing, but no form were you seeing nothing but a voice." This verse is another proof that no one ever
seen GOD in any form.
Mr. Osama purposely tries to misunderstand this verse by not reading the entire passage. In my dealing with Mr. Osama, he never really tries to understand Christianity. He even stooped to cursing Christians out at one time. If we read John 6:40-41 we see that Jesus came down FROM HEAVEN. John 6:42-26-
42 They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph,
whose father and mother we
know? How can he now say, `I came down from
heaven'?"
43 "Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus
answered.
44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent
me draws him, and I will
raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the Prophets: `They will all be
taught by God.' Everyone who
listens to the Father and learns from him comes to
me.
46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from
God; only he has seen
the Father.
Jesus says in vs. 46 that no one has seen god except HE WHO IS FROM GOD! Jesus claimed to come from heaven which makes him the only one who has seen God! Mr. Osama doesn’t understand this verse because unlike the Quran you have to read more than a few verses to understand a point in the Bible.
Mr. Osama also lies about Deuteronomy 4:12. He says that God spoke out of the middle of the fire. Elohim is God in Hebrew and it isn’t present in this verse. The word “Lord” which is Yahweh in Hebrew, not Elohim. When you look at it in this light you see that it was the Angel of YAHWEH who spoke to Moses in Exodus 3. This ANGEL CALLED HIMSELF “I AM THAT I AM”. An angel is a man, as well as a heavenly being. So we see that a man who is called God spoke to Moses. Read Strong’s Concordance on Angel in the OT.—
Mal'ak
Definition:
1.messenger, representative
a. messenger
b.angel
c.the theophanic angel
Word Origin from an unused root meaning to despatch as a
deputy
Who claimed to be God? It was Jesus who was divine as well as a man! Osama continues by saying:
Trinitanians
confuse this mistranslated and misinterpreted "Might God" expression
with Jehova or Allah Almighty. They
think it means the actual GOD. Please
note that in the "Kings James Version" Bible, the word
"Mighty" in Isiah 9:6 is "mighty". The only unique title given to Allah
Almighty in the Bible is: JEHOVAH, GOD,
and GOD LORD. "God",
"Mighty One", and "Most Mighty" are magnifying titles that
were given to other people in the Bible that do not refer to Allah Almighty
(GOD) himself. Read further down !.
First,
let us look at Mark 12:29 "The First is, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our
God is One." Jesus, according to
the source of Christianity, in the records that we have of his sayings, never
made a claim to be divine. In an answer
to a question on what the first commandment was, he replied by saying God is
One.
Let us
look at Psalms 45:3 "(David) Grid your sword upon (your) thigh, O mighty
one, with your dignity and your splendor." Here we see that Daivd in Psalm 45:3 was called "O mighty
one". Other Bibles have it as "O Mighty One". It doesn't mean
that David is Allah Almighty or Jehova.
It's just a Biblical expression to magnify David and to show his power
and mightiness. David was GOD's beloved
and begotten son. GOD chose David and
called him the "O Mighty God".
Please note that the "King James Version" Bible says "O
most mighty". We all know that God
is the most mighty, and yet King David was called "most mighty". This
is a Biblical expression to only magnify King David. If this expression was given to Jesus, then Trinitanians today
would use it to try to prove that Jesus is God.
Mr. Osama isn’t a translation expert, which anyone can see when they check out his claims in Hebrew. The word for God in Isaiah 9:6 is Elohim. In Psalms 45:3, the word isn’t Elohim but ghibbor. Mr. Osama then somehow tries to equate Mighty God “Elohim” To Mighty One! Elohim itself means “Mighty Ones” not “Mighty One”. Now if Osama’s assertions were correct then Might God, which he claims should be like Mighty one would be translated as “Mighty Mighty Ones”! This makes no sense and it explains why Christians don’t accept David like they accept Jesus as God. David was never called Mighty God. The only one who was is God and Jesus. Mr. Osama should check out his claims with a Hebrew Concordance before making such a claim.
Let us
look at Psalms 45:7 "You (David) have loved righteousness and you hate
wickedness. That is why God (David),
your God (Jehova), has anointed you with the oil of exaultation more than your
partners." In this verse we see
that David was called God. Of course,
this doesn't make David Allah Almighty or Jehova himself. It's just an expression to magnify and
glorify King David.
Actually this is the biggest lie in the world. The Jews
don’t even accept this verse as referring to David. Lets read it with some
contents to show you just how Mr. Osama, who by the way stole this scripture
from me, used it falsely. read:
6
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right
sceptre.
7
Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.
David’s throne didn’t last forever. It said O God, not O David! David died and so did Solomon after him. This verse clearly refers to God only. Even the Jews don’t accept David as being God here. This was Osama’s use to fool his readers. He is very deceitful.
Let us
look at 2 Corinthians 4:4 "Among whom (Satan) the god of this system of
things has blinded the minds of the
unbelievers....". The word "god" in this verse is
Hotheos (the same exact word in John
1:1. The NIV Bible author wrote "God" in John 1:1 and not
"god") in Greek but the translators translate it with a small
"g" instead of capital.
Mislead
Views from Christians: When I debate
with Christians about this "God" expression given to Jesus compared
to other Prophets and people, they claim that the word "God" with a
capital "G" refers to God himself, and the word "god" with
small "g" refers to humans.
They also claim that they came to this type of translation from the
Greek translation. Some lies and
discrepencies had been inserted into the Bible through capitalizing the letter
"G" when it is supposed to be a small "g" when referring to
Jesus:
Let us
look at John 1:1 "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God,
and the word was God." This is often presented from the Gospel of John to
prove that Jesus was God. There are however several problems with this
claim: By this verse it is assumed that
Jesus was the "word" and since the word was God and became flesh, Jesus
is God. The statement that John reproduced in his gospel however was uttered
not by John but by a certain Philo of Alexandria, years before Jesus or John
were born. It is therefore completely unlikely that Philo was even remotely
referring to Jesus.
There
is also another reason for not capitalizing the "G" in John 1:1,
considering the Greek of the above verse which disproves the assertion that
Jesus is referred to as God in the verse. In the verse above, the first time
the word God is used, the Greek is HOTHEOS (the same exact word given to Satan
as God in 2 Corinthians 4:4. The NIV Bible Author wrote "god" for
Satan instead of "God"), which means The God. The second time the
word God is used,"....and the word was God," the word for God is
TONTHEOS, which means "a god".
Europeans have evolved a system of capital and small letters
non-existent in Greek. The God, HOTHEOS is translated as God with a capital G,
whereas Tontheos, which means A or ANY God is translated with a small g, god.
In this case however, we see the unlawful translators trying to prove Jesus
being God by putting capital G for both whereas it doesn't belong in the case
of the "word".
Mr. Osama shows just how much he researches his material with this one. He uses this old Ahmeed Deedat argument. He claims that the first word is HOTHEOS. The word is TON THEON!!!! Just look at this:
Greek: KAI HO LOGOS EN PROS TON THEON
English:
And the Word was with God
The first occurrence is TON THEON and not HOTHEOS as Osama claims.
Greek:
KAI THEOS EN HO LOGOS
English:
And God was the Word
This is why Satan is called “a god” because Ton Theon
isn’t used for him. This is very
embarrassing indeed because Osama tries to say I don’t know Greek when he goes
to Ahmeed Deedat who has already been embarrassed for mistranslating this
scripture. For more on this see www.answering-islam.org/Green/deedat.htm
So can
we trust the current English Translations?
Given that facts above about verse John 1:1, how can we expect
from an
ordinary English speaking Christian who wants to spread his religion with all
his heart honestly and faithfully to understand this lie of capitalizing the
small "g" in John 1:1 and other verses, and not capitalizing the
capital "M" in the word "mighty" in Psalm 24:8 and the
"g" in 2 Corinthians 4:4 (for Satan) for instance? Must we allow our faith to be all based on
what other authors decide to insert from their own personal views into the
Bible?
Of course not we should ignore the Greek experts who translated the Bible into many different languages and follow Ahmeed Deedat, a man who doesn’t even know how God is rendered in Greek. Mr. Osama I don’t speak Greek like a native speaker but I do know something about the language. Even a Greek expert at the main Library admitted to this. What I’m trying to say is that you can go and get material to read the Bible in Greek and Hebrew for a little of nothing so this is no excuse to mistranslate John 1:1 and then build a argument from a mistranslation.
Let us
look at John 10:30 "I (Jesus) and the Father are One." This verse is severly misunderstood and is taken out of context, because
beginning at verse John 10:23 we read (in the context of 10:30) about Jesus
talking to the Jews. In verse John 10:28-30, talking about his followers as his
sheep, he states: "...Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My
Father who gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are One."
These
verses prove only that Jesus and the Father are one in that no man can pluck
the sheep out of either's hand. It does not at all state that Jesus is God's
equal in everything. In fact the words of Jesus, " My Father, who gave
them me is Greater than ALL...," in John 10:29 completely negates this
claim, otherwise we are left with a contradiction just a sentence apart. All
includes everyone even Jesus.
This isn’t what the content says just read John 10:30-33, mentioned earlier. The Jews just like Christians today knew that Jesus was claiming to be God. Notice how Osama didn’t continue because he didn’t want his reader to see this. He is very deceitful and never cared about presenting a true picture of Christianity because he believes the Christianity is wrong based on the sole Testimony of Muhammad. Now you know why God in the OT said that 1 witness wasn’t enough to claim anything. Muslims claim to follow the Torah but the reason they never mention this is because they know that Muhammad was a witness unto himself.
Also
let us look at verse John 17:20-22 "That the ALL may be made ONE. Like
thou Father art in me, I in thee, that they may be ONE in us. I in them, they
in me, that they may be perfect in ONE".
In this verse, the same word ONE used, the Greek, HEN is used, not only
to describe Jesus and the Father but to describe Jesus, the Father and eleven
of the twelve disciples of Jesus. So here if that implies equality, we have a
unique case of 13 Gods.
This is a argument of Akbarally Meherally. Osama uses this argument to make the claim that Jesus and the Father and disciples are all God, it is hard to find were Osama just like Meherally before him produces such reasoning. Let us consider the verse which has the two points to it. 1.) That the disciples although different people can e united as being one. 2.) In the same way Jesus Christ and God the Father are united as being one. Jesus Christ’s prayer to his Father is a prayer that the disciples may have perfect unity in the one Church as Jesus Christ and God the Father are in a perfect unity in the Godhead.
Of the
verse in question, "I and the Father are One" in (John 10:30), we
also need to take note of the verses following the 30th verse in the
text. In those verses, the Jews accuse Jesus falsely of claiming to be God by
these words. He however replies, proving their accusation wrong by their own
text: "The Jews answered him saying,'For a good work we stone thee not,
but for blasphemy, and because that thou being a man, makest thyself a God
'" (John 10:33).
Jesus
replies to this accusation saying: "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not
written in your Law, "I said ye are gods. If He can call them gods, unto
whom the word of God came, say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and
sent into the world, "Thou blasphemeth," because I said I am the son
of God?'" (John 10:34-36).
Mr. Osama seems to have problems explaining this passage. For one thing, the Jews didn’t wrongly accuse Jesus because Jesus didn’t claim to be “a god.” If you look at Psalms 82:6 you see that elohim which is understood by every Jew who ever lived to mean judges not gods. In Psalms 82:1-“God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods.” This term is rendered as judges. If Osama doesn’t believe me he can ask any Hebrew Expert. Also another point that should be noted is that Psalms 82 doesn’t mentioned “THE SON OF GOD” as being referred to just “gods”. The Jews knew this and they stoned Jesus because he claimed to be “THE SON OF GOD” not “gods” or a judge. The law discusses judges while Jesus discusses being “the son of God”. Who should we believe? The Jews who knew this or Osama who claimed that the first word in John 1:1 is HOTHEOS when it’s TONTHEON?
Let us
look at Acts 2:22 "O you men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a MAN approved of God among you..."Peter in the Book of Acts
testifies about Jesus. Jesus thus even
to his disciples, as to early Christians, not poisoned by Pauline doctrine, was
a man, not a God.
I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but if we look at the very next verse we see that Jesus died and was raised again to life!! This again refutes the erroneous Quran about Jesus death. Read Acts 2:24-36:
24
But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because
it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
25 David said about him: "`I saw the Lord always
before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my
body also will live in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will
you let your Holy One see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will
fill me with joy in your presence.' [1]
29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the
patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised
him on oath that he
would place one of his descendants on his throne.
31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of
the Christ, [2] that he
was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see
decay.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all
witnesses of the fact.
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from
the Father the
promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now
see and hear.
34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
"`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet."' [3]
36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God
has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
1. 28 Psalm 16:8-11
2. 31 Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and
"the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean
"the Anointed One"; also in verse 36.
3. 35 Psalm 110:1
Here we see that God raised Jesus and set him on his throne, then in vs. 34 says that David himself said that “God said to David’s lord “Christ” to sit at his right hand! It then finishes by saying that God made Jesus who WAS CRUCIFIED BOTH LORD (Yahweh in Hebrew) AND CHRIST!!! In verse 38 it says to baptize people in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins. Now we know that only God is eternal right? Now read Act 3:15-“and killed the PRINCE OF LIFE, whom God RAISED FROM THE DEAD, of which WE ARE WITNESSES.” This was referring to Jesus Christ and Peter says that they were witnesses to his crucifixion. Now if Osama believes what Peter said in Acts 2:22 then what Peter said in this verse is true also!! “Now the Prince of Life is literally translated as AUTHOR OF LIFE (ETERNAL):” (Scoffield, NKJV footnotes pg 1315). How can a mere man be the author of eternal life? Simple, Christ was the “word” and “the word” was God while being with God.
Is
Jesus Immanu-el?
Let us
look at Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign,
behold a will conceive and bear a child and shall call his name
Immanu-el." It is claimed that
this verse was a prophecy about the birth of Jesus to the virgin Mary. It is
further claimed that since the word Immanuel means "God with us," the
person being talked about, i.e Jesus was God.
The word translated as "virgin" is the wrong translation of
the Hebrew word ALMAH. The word ALMAH in Hebrew means "young woman."
The correct Hebrew word for virgin is BETHULAH. Since many young women begot
children since those words were penned, it is not at all necessary that those
words should apply to Jesus.
This is true I have no disagreement with this except that Osama doesn’t tell the whole definition of ALMAH. This word means a young damsel. A damsel is a woman who has never been married. In Hebrew culture unmarried girls were virgins!! Even Muslims all over the world say that Mary was a virgin! Mary claimed that she wasn’t touched by a man (sexually) making her a virgin. Even the Jews don’t have a problem with this. So why does Osama? Why, because he wants to diminish the specialty of Christ’s birth which is blasphemous to both Christians and orthodox Muslims.
Another
fact that is often ignored is that Jesus was never named Immanuel, nor did
anyone ever address him as Immanuel when he lived. On the contrary, the Messiah
was named Jesus (Luke 2:21) by the angel according to the gospels. Also, even
if a person is named Immanuel, it doesn't mean that the person so named is
God. Consider for example all the
people named ELI in the Old Testament. ELI means God in the Hebrew. It is also
narrated that Jesus while talking to God referred to Him as ELI (Mark 15:34
& Matthew 27:46). We cannot however on this basis of just name accept all
the people named ELI in the Old Testament as Gods. Similarly, we cannot accept
a person named Immanuel (God with us) as God. Jesus was never named Immanuel
anyway, so both ways the argument and claim are false.
This is a straw man argument because both Christians and Jews recognized this to be more of a title representing the character of the person more than a name! This has been known for over 3000 years and that is why other Islamic sites don’t bring up this point. This is real embarrassing because if Osama wants to tell us about Christianity, how come he doesn’t even know this? Also to show you that the Jews knew this, just read the NT. Notice how the Jews never accused Jesus of not being the Messiah based on the fact that his name wasn’t Immanuel!!! Surely if they took this based on name, they would’ve immediately brought this issue up. One thing I noticed about people from non-Christian countries is that they have difficulty understanding the literal and symbolism of the Bible. This wasn’t anything new, it’s been known for over 3000 years.
What
did Jesus say about GOD?
In
Matthew 24:36 Jesus told his followers that no one (including Jesus) knows when
the judgment day will come; Only GOD knows. Jesus's followers wanted to know
when the Judgment day will come.
In John
14:28 "The Father is greater than I."
In John
10:29 "My Father is greater than ALL."
In John
5:30 "I can of mine own self do NOTHING.....I seek not my own will but the
will of Him who sent me." Jesus
was sent in this verse by his own admission. In this verse he himself says that
the one who is sent: "..... the one who is sent is not greater than the
one who sent (John 13:16)."
In Matthew 24:36 from NKJV-“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” Hmmm, the words “nor the Son” isn’t present in the traditional Majority Text of the NT, as shown in the footnotes of Scoffield’s NKJV Bible. It is something that was added later by the United Bible Societies and Nestle-Aland (IBID). The NKJV is based on a much earlier manuscript than the KJV. Now since Jesus was on the earth speaking at this time then it would be correct for him to say that “ONLY THE FATHER KNOWS”.
For John 14:28, the literal Greek translation is “The Father is greater of me” showing us that God was the greater percentage of Jesus (Greek-English NT. Interlinear, tyndale).
For John 10:29, Jesus says his father is greater than all. But in the next verse, he says that he and the Father are ONE. The rest was discussed earlier in this paper.
For John 5:30, Jesus did admit this but he said “I SEEK NOT MY OWN WILL”. He didn’t want to do his own will, but rather chose instead to do the work for his father. For John 13:16, Jesus never said that he was less either did he? No. Remember the Jews stoned him on several occasions because he equated himself with God. Look at Matthew 26:63-65—
63 But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to
him, "I charge you under
oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the
Christ, [1] the Son of God."
64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
"But I say to all of you: In the future you
will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of
the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
65 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said,
"He has spoken blasphemy!
Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you
have heard the blasphemy.
We see that the Christ or Messiah is THE SON OF GOD. So what is Osama’s answer on this admission of Jesus?
Thomas
is misunderstood in verse John 20:28:
It is often claimed that since Thomas referred to Jesus as "My God, my Lord (John 20:28)," that Jesus was God. An ignorance of the context of the verse and of Christian doctrine prompts this claim. The context of the verse talks about an unbelieving Thomas being surprised when Jesus offers him evidence. The exclamation, "My God," on his part was just astonishment. We use such exclamations everyday while talking to people. This doesn't mean that the person we are talking to is God. For example, I see John cutting his wrist with a Rambo knife. I say: "My God, John what are you doing?" Do I mean that John is God? Of course not. Similar is the use of the expression by Thomas. If you go into Jewish or Muslim societies even today, you'll hear people exclaim "My God, my Lord," at every situation which surprises them or causes them anguish or is astonishing. In the verse above Thomas