How Old is Jesus?

The doctrine of the trinity alleges that Jesus existed before He was born and that Jesus Christ is co-eternal with the Father. This notion is generally described as the pre-existence of Christ and without it the trinity falls apart.

Did Jesus Actually Exist Before He Was Born?

Advocates for the trinity declare that Jesus had a dual nature held together by virtrue of a hypostatic union and that only the human part of Christ was born in Bethlehem. This means that while the humanity part of Jesus was being born His eternal and unborn part was waiting in the wings to occupy its new home in a human body. This is a strange and unbiblical doctrine to be sure! We wonder if it means Jesus wasn’t really and truly born in Bethlehem after all. Did Jesus actually exist before He was born?

The Peculiar Idea of Eternal Begetting

There is talk in the creeds of another novel and unbiblical idea called “eternal begetting”. This teaching is just one of many desperate attempts that try to support the whole shaky house of cards we call the doctrine of the trinity. Along with being totally unintelligible, wouldn’t the peculiar idea of eternal begetting have put a lot of strain on Mary? Is there any truth to the idea that Jesus existed from eternity long before He was born? No doubt there is some language in the New Testament that is confusing but fortunately there are other Biblical teachings that help clarify things. Let’s take a closer look.

What is Prophetic Prolepsis?

This might be a term you’ve never even heard but prophetic prolepsis is an academic way of saying that God “calleth the things that are not as though they are.” (Romans 4:17) You can write it in your book that once God wills and determines something it is as good as done. “Yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isaiah 43:13) God can speak of things He has planned as though they have already happened because they are absolutely certain to take place. This is why He can speak of things that have yet to occur as though they have existed from all eternity. The things that God plans already exist in His sovereign will and that is the ultimate and eternal reality! “He calleth the things that are not as though they are.”

How Old is Jesus Christ?

God’s eternal plan was that He would have a Son who would ultimately redeem mankind and bring us to our high destiny. This plan was from eternity but Jesus’ actual life didn’t begin until He was conceived and then born in Bethlehem. How old is Jesus Christ? “His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2) The promise of Jesus Christ was in the mind of God “from everlasting” but Jesus’ actual appearing didn’t come to pass until He was born in Bethlehem. This is a biblical way to understand scriptures that would otherwise seem to indicate Jesus existed from eternity. It’s helpful to read your Bible with the idea in mind that the things God declares in His Word already exist in His plan for the ages even though the fulfillment of those things may still be in the future.

PS: This isn’t a hard idea to understand but it is important. If what we have shared here makes sense to you please share this post with a friend. Thanks and God bless.

God Has No Equal

God the Father

The doctrine of the Trinity insists that you believe Jesus is a divine “person” who is equal with the Father. To us this seems glaringly at odds with a host of scriptures that clearly and explicitly say otherwise. God our Father even seems a little indignant when He asks “To whom then will you liken me or shall I be equal?” (Isaiah 40:25) and in another place He says “I am YHWH and there is none else, there is no God beside me.” (Isaiah 45:5) The Old Testament is filled with statements like these and the New Testament likewise declares the unique supremacy and singularity of God’s Being. “For us (Christians) there is one God, the Father, and no other besides Him.” (I Cor 8:4-6)

Trinitarian Dogma Says God is Not Even a Person!

The trinitarian dogma we have inherited insists that God is not even a person! C.S. Lewis said it this way, “We must remind ourselves that Christian theology does not believe God to be a person.” I would suggest that instead listening to C.S. Lewis we should remind ourselves that this kind of thinking is radically anti-biblical. How is it even possible that our theology has reduced God to some type of “substance” or “essence”? Another good question is this… Is Jesus Christ or any other being equal with God the Father?

The Trinity Says God is One Substance

Scripture has been subjugated to philosophy to create the illusion that God is a single essence or substance instead of a single divine Being. In the words of one writer, “God is one what in three whos” (whatever that means). The truth that the God of Israel is an intensely personal God has been replaced by a new belief that God should be thought of as one divine “essence or substance” instead of one Supreme Being. This drastic change transforms the God of Israel into an incomprehensible abstraction thereby depersonalizing the most personal of all beings!

The Trinity Has Some Big Problems

One Catholic scholar observes “a fundamental crisis over plausibility and acceptance of the church’s Christology (read trinity). Incomprehensibility, complexity and remoteness from life and the Bible are the themes of a crisis of belief.” Another notable Trinitarian scholar has acknowledged “We may have to admit that we don’t really know in what way God is one and in what different way He is three.” These are open admissions of the weakness and failure of trinitarian theology. We appreciate this kind of honesty! These are modern scholars who recognize the trinity has some very big problems.

The Bible Says God Has No Equal

On the other hand, “We speak that we do know…” (John 3:11) “For us there is one God, the Father, and no other besides Him” (I Cor 8:4-6) “For us there is one God the Father, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Tim 2:5) There is only one divine person we call God and He has no equal. We know Him as the Father and Jesus Christ is His miraculously conceived, resurrected and glorified human Son. This truth is so straightforward and clear that even children can understand it. It is absolutely and utterly biblical to say that God the Father has no co-equal “persons” beside Him. Remember this… God has no equal.

Jesus Never Claimed to be God’s Equal

The man Christ Jesus made it abundantly clear to His disciples that He did not consider Himself to be God’s equal. “My Father is greater than I…” (John 14:28) and that He (Jesus) said and did only what He had been taught by His Father. For example: “Of my own self I can do nothing…” (John 5:30) Jesus never claimed to be God’s equal but he did claim to be God’s son! Believing that Jesus is co-equal with the Father overrules the words and teachings of Jesus Himself and we think that’s a very bad idea. If you have accepted the notion that Jesus is co-equal with the Father you might want to reconsider. For your own sake please do.

PS: This isn’t hard to understand! The only reason it seems difficult is because our vision has been clouded and our hearing has been dulled by the archaic creeds and dogmas that still afflict the church. Be brave dear friend! Read the scriptures for yourself. See what Jesus said with your own eyes. Hear His words with your own ears. You’ll be glad you did. God Bless.

PPS: Please share this with a friend.

Jesus’ Favorite Creed

Do you have a favorite creed? Maybe you like the Nicene Creed best of all and recite it every Sunday in church. Or do you prefer the Apostles’ Creed? Lots of Christians like the Apostles’ Creed and it is easily one of the all time top creeds. And who could ignore the Athanasian Creed? Wow! It’s such an impressive creed with serious heft and real teeth. The Athanasian Creed says you better start thinking about God like Athanasius decreed or you will be lost and damned! That may sound harsh but according to the Athanasian Creed it’s just the way things are. Perhaps the disciples of Athanasius should properly be called Athanasians instead of Christians. If the words of Athanasius can decide your salvation they might be even more important than the words of Jesus! Have you ever wondered if Jesus has a favorite creed?

Jesus Has a Favorite Creed!

It turns out that Jesus has a favorite creed too. It is pretty straightforward really. “Hear O Israel, the LORD your God is one LORD!” (Deuteronomy 6:4). The ancient Jewish Shema was deeply upsetting to proponents of the trinity! They preferred, “The Lord your God is Three and One”. In spite of all the church councils over the centuries no one has ever figured out a way to get rid of that pesky old Shema once and for all. In spite of the decisions of church councils and human governments throughout history, Jesus was (and is) so committed to the truth of the Shema that it formed the basis of what He declared was the greatest commandment of all.

Jesus’ Personal Creed Was Outlawed by Rome!

Like a lot of things He said, Jesus’ favorite creed caused some serious controversy. As a result, Jesus’ personal creed was outlawed by Rome! The Justinian Codex or Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) banned the Shema in 529 AD because it was deemed much too Jewish. Unfortunately Jesus’ creed also implied criticism of the Trinity… so it had to be banned under penalty of death. Strangely enough, Christ’s adversaries on this issue still claimed to be His disciples! The prohibition against the Shema was written into Roman law during the reign of Justinian I thereby overruling the clear will of the Savior. We think promoting trinitarian dogma by outlawing Jesus’ favorite creed (at the point of a sword) doesn’t seem like God’s way at all… but it does seem like something Satan would approve of. As Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them.”

PS: I suppose Justinian’s prohibition against the Shema made a lot of sense to the emperor and to the trinitarian bishops who ruled the state church. It doesn’t make much sense to the rest of us though. Now that you know this interesting bit of history why not share it with your friends? They should know about it too. Thanks and God Bless.

The LORD Said Unto My Lord…

Has Psalm 110 Been Hacked?

Psalm 110 is a familiar but poorly understood scripture about the coming Messiah, and Trinitarian commentators have had a field day with its meaning. Jesus Himself quoted it to confound and silence His opponents. (Luke 20:42-44) Here’s how it reads in our English Bibles, “The LORD said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110) In Hebrew it reads “YHWH said to Adawn…” translated “Adonai said to my Adoni….” Our English translations replace YHWH and Adonai with “LORD” and replace Adawn and Adoni with “Lord”. This might have pleased them but it doesn’t really give the reader a good idea of what is going on in this verse. We wonder, has Psalm 110 been hacked? Let’s take a minute and sort it out.

Adonai is Used Exclusively for God the Father

The conversation in Psalm 110 is between two distinct beings. One Being is God the Father and the other is His Christ. One Being is divine and the other is human. There is no question or debate that YHWH applies exclusively to God the Father. Likewise Adonai is used exclusively for God the Father. So far so good.

Adoni is Used for Human Superiors

There is another word, however, that describes human lords and superiors. It is the word Adoni and it is never used to describe God Himself. Understanding the distinction between Adonai and Adoni will help you make good Biblical sense out of the phrase “The LORD said to my Lord”. This is not complicated but it is important! The man Jesus Christ is our Adoni but He is not Adonai. He is our Lord but He is not LORD. What emerges from this is a clear understanding that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is a man. Our Savior came in the flesh and He is one of us. Jesus is God’s Anointed One and God’s only begotten Son, the Christ. He is our Brother and Master and Lord but He is not God.

Psalm 110 Reveals the Mystery of God and Christ

Jesus never claimed to be God but He did claim to be the Christ. Psalm 110 reveals the Mystery of God and Christ. “For us there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5) We don’t have to resort to the tortured logic of trinitarian philosophy to make sense of this! We honor and exalt Jesus as God’s unique agent on our behalf and for what He has done for us. “For God has made him both Lord and Christ”. (Acts 2:36) “For us there is only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we are for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ…” (I Cor 8:6) Well dear friend, there you have it. Psalm 110 sheds light on the mystery of God and Christ, Jesus is not God, Jesus is Lord!

PS: God surely intended for us understand his Word. This seems at odds with the work of many theologians and translators but we are convinced God will eventually have His way! If this post has helped you see things more clearly please share it with a few friends. God Bless.

Will He Find Faith?

“When the Son of Man returns will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) This sounds like a pretty surprising question since there are currently about 2.5 billion believers in the world. Still, Jesus posed this question to His disciples so there must be something to it. What exactly did He mean? Was He wondering if anyone would still believe in Him when He returns? Did He wonder if people would eventually lose their ability to have any faith at all? Or was He wondering if the “faith that was once delivered to the saints” would still be around?

What Will Believers Choose to Believe?

We proclaim a simple Biblical faith in the God of Israel and His only begotten Son Jesus Christ the Messiah. This is assuredly the “faith that was once delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3) The issue before us today is this, “Who has believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1) What will believers choose to believe in the days before Jesus returns? We know there is One God and there is no other God beside Him. Jesus made it clear that this knowledge of God was the first and greatest commandment given to Israel. “Hear O Israel! The Lord your God is One Lord.” (Mark 12:29) This is emphatically and exclusively true in spite of the overwhelming influence of a theological tradition that insists otherwise. Many choose to believe the words of Jesus that God is One while others prefer an opposing vision that claims God is Three and One.

This is Eternal Life

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13) What is the strait gate and narrow way Jesus spoke of? Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3) The teaching of One God and His only begotten Son would certainly qualify as a strait gate according to Jesus. Could it be that trinitarian theology is a wide gate and not at all the one God has ordained? Many believers think the words of Jesus hold the answer. You’ll have to decide this for yourself, what do you think?

PS: Perhaps God is leading you to a better understanding of Himself and His beloved Son. We sure hope so! If these thoughts help you see Him more clearly why not share this post with a friend? That way God can bless both of you.