The two divine Beings of the Old Testament are clearly and undeniably
revealed in the book of Psalms. In the original Hebrew text, there are many
passages in the Psalms which directly refer to these two divine Beings as
Jehovah. In all but one of these passages, the original inspired words were
altered in ancient times by the keepers of the Hebrew text. Under the pretext of
reverence for the name of God, the name Adonay was substituted for Jehovah in
selected verses. By systematically modifying the vowel points of the noun
Jehovah, this name of God was wrongly changed to Adonay in 134 places in the Old
Testament--including key verses in the psalms which reveal that there were two
Jehovahs! These alterations to the Hebrew text were carefully documented. The
ancient Levitical Massorites, custodians of the Hebrew text,
recorded every passage in which the name Jehovah was modified to Adonay. While these alterations were totally unjustified, most occurrences of the
name Adonay in the Old Testament are authentic and are found in the original
text. Adonay is a variation of the Hebrew word Adon, which means "Lord." Both
Adonay and Adon are used in many passages in the original Hebrew text as names
of God. While Adonay is used exclusively to name the true God, Adon is often
used to refer to human "lords," or masters, and sometimes refers to false gods.
Why did the Massorites alter selected verses in the Hebrew text by
substituting Adonay for Jehovah? It has been claimed that these pious Levites
revered the name Jehovah so greatly that they could not speak it, and therefore
they changed Jehovah to Adonay. If this be true, why did they not change every
occurrence of the name Jehovah in the Old Testament? Why did they select only
134 places, including verses which reveal the existence of two Jehovahs? The motive behind this alteration of selected references to Jehovah by the
Levitical guardians of the Old Testament is highly questionable. Is it possible
that the influence of pagan philosophical concepts of God's nature led to
rejection of the Scriptural truth that there were two Jehovah? The selection of
the passages which were altered indicates that the Massorites were unwilling to
acknowledge the existence of more than one Jehovah! In analysing the 134 places where the name Jehovah was altered, another
reason for changing the Hebrew text becomes obvious: the Levites could not
accept the Scriptural revelation that one of the two Jehovahs would become the
Messiah and would replace their existing priesthood. In their rejection of God's
plan, they modified passages in the Psalms which referred to both Jehovahs and
which prophesied that one of these Jehovahs would become the Messiah and the
High Priest of the New Covenant. Because the record of this
tampering has been preserved, we can know the truth that God has revealed to us
in His Word! Codified in the Massorah--marginal writings in the old manuscripts--is the
record of the 134 alterations made in the original Hebrew text. While these
alterations are generally known as the " 134 Emendations of the Sopherim," we
will see that it was actually the Massorites who inserted these changes into the
text. Let us briefly review the history of the Old Testament text, and we will
learn how and when these alterations were introduced. In The Christian Passover by Fred R. Coulter we are given a detailed account
of the codification of the Old Testament by Ezra the priest. Chapter Fifteen
reveals that this codification took place under the most difficult of
circumstances! A remnant of the exiled Jewish people had returned to Jerusalem
from their captivity in Babylon and other parts of the Medo-Persian Empire.
Among these restored exiles were a large number of Levites and priests, whose
duty it was to restore the temple service and to teach their brethren the laws
of God, lest they fall into idolatry and once more be cast out of their own
land. But Manasseh, a Levite and the legitimate heir to the high priesthood, had
married the daughter of Governor Sanballat of neighbouring Chaldean Samaria. In
the sixth century B.C., Manasseh defected to Samaria, taking with him a major
contingent of Levites, including many who were of the Aaronic priesthood. Under the auspices of governor Sanballat, Manasseh and his fellow Levites set
up a counterfeit priesthood in their own temple in Samaria. Not only was there a
competing "Mosaic" religion in Samaria at this time, but there was also a
competing "Mosaic" religion and temple at Elephantine, Egypt, as well as a third
temple in the Transjordan region, where sacrifices were already being offered to
God. To stem this tide of apostasy, Ezra and Nehemiah acted under God's
direction and inspiration to preserve the true worship of God as commanded in
the Holy Scriptures. Because Manasseh and his heretical followers also laid claim to the
Scriptures, it was with the greatest urgency that Ezra and Nehemiah acted to
safeguard the integrity of the Old Testament text. Levitical Sopherim were
placed in charge of standardizing, updating and translating the Old Testament.
It was this group of Levites who compiled the Old Testament as we now know it.
The Torah (the first five books) was translated, with special
emphasis upon the commands in the book of Deuteronomy, which was updated, copied
and sent throughout the Persian Empire. A true chronology of this period places
these events between 539 and 512 B.C. The Jehovah who later became the Christ guided the Sopherim in their work on
the Old Testament. At the beginning of His ministry on earth, He placed His seal
of approval on the Old Testament text, saying, "Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For
verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled" (Mat. 5:17-18). God will not allow any of His words to be lost. Although
changes were later introduced into the Old Testament text after the original
work of the Sopherim was completed, those alterations were carefully recorded,
and the records were preserved and passed down to us today so that we can know
the true and authentic words of God. When the work on the Old Testament text was completed by the Sopherim, the
text was passed on to the Massorites. Bullinger states, "The Text itself
had been fixed before the Massorites were put in charge of it. This had
been the work of the Sopherim (from saphar, to count, or number). Their work,
under Ezra and Nehemiah, was to set the Text in order after the return from
Babylon; and we read of it in Neh. 8:8 (cp. Ezra 7:6,1 1). The men of 'the Great
Synagogue' completed the work" (The Companion Bible, Appendix 30). The newly compiled text was placed in the hands of the Massorites for
preservation and duplication. To safeguard the authorized text from being
corrupted, the Massorites used an ingenious system which enabled them to keep
track of every letter and every word in the books of the Old Testament.
Bullinger explains the methodical system used by the Massorites: "The Sopherim
[appointed by Ezra and Nehenliahl were the authorised revisers of the Sacred
Text; and, their work being completed, the Massorites were the authorised
custodians of it. Their work was to preserve it.
The Massorah is called 'A Fence to the Scriptures,' because it locked all
words and letters in their places. It does not contain notes or comments as
such, but facts and phenomena. It records the number of times the several
letters occur in the various books of the Bible; the number of words, and the
middle word; the number of verses, and the middle verse; the number of
expressions and combinations of words, etc. All this, not from a perverted
ingenuity, but for the set purpose of safeguarding the Sacred Text, and
preventing the loss or misplacement of a single letter or word"
(Ibid.). The faithful preservation of God's Sacred Word by the Levitical Massorites
did not last long, however. Shortly after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the
Levitical priesthood fell into a state of corruption. It was during this period
in Jewish history that changes were introduced into the Old Testament text. The seeds of corruption had already been sown in the days of Nehemiah by the
high priest Eliashib. (See the story of Ellashib, Nehemlah and Tobiah
the Ammonite [an ancestor of Josephus] in Nehemiah 13.) When Ellashib
died, Jolada, son of Ellashib and great-grandson of Joshua (Ezra's nephew),
inherited the office of high priest. Joiada's "reign" as high priest must have
run through a good part of the 400's B.C. Corruption of the priesthood begun by
his father Eliashib continued with Joiada and 'increased with the son who
succeeded him as high priest. Joiada (or Judah, as he was also known) had three sons:
Manasseh, who was next in line to become high priest at the
death of his father Joiada; Jonathan, who actually became the
next high priest; and Jesus, who was slain in the temple by his
brother Jonathan while he (Jonathan) was high priest. Manasseh did not become
the high priest because he apostatized to Samaria after he had married the
daughter of Sanballat, governor of Saman'a.* Since Manasseh, the rightful heir
to the office of high priest, had apostatized to Samaria, the office passed to
Manasseh's younger brother Jonathan when Joida died.. [(*Josephus confuses this Manasseh, son of Joiada and brother
to Jonathan (Josephus Xl.B.3), with a later Manasseh (Josephus Xl.7.1)
who was the son of Jonathan. The latter Manasseh, who was the
son of Jonathan, was the brother of Jaddua the high priest who
greeted Alexander in 332/31 B.C. Notice that the Manasseh in Josephus Xl.8.3 is
associated with the time of a Darius (Darius Hystaspes, 521-486 B.C.), while the
Manasseh of Josephus XI.7.1 is associated with the time of Alexander the Great.
Josephus has confused the Manasseh of Darius Hystaspes' era, 521-486 B.C.
(Josephus Xl.8.3), with the Manasseh of Darius III Codomannus' era, 336330
B.C.(Josephus XI.7.1.)]
Since Manasseh, the rightful heir to the office of high priest, had
apostatized to Samaria, the office passed to Manasseh's younger brother Jonathan
when Joida died. This transfer of priestly power must have taken place sometime
during the late 400's or early 300's B.C. Jonathan (also called John) was a very wicked high priest. So evil was
Jonathan that his wickedness was not so much as even heard of among the
Gentiles! Notice Josephus' testimony: "...and when he [Joiada or Judas] was
dead, his son John [Jonathan] took that dignity; on whose account it was also
that Bagoses, the general of another of Artaxerxes' [Artaxerxes II Mnemon
404-358 B.C.) army, polluted the temple, and imposed tributes on the Jews, that
out of the public stock, before they offered the daily sacrifices, they should
pay for every lamb fifty shekels. Now Jesus (not Christ) was the brother of John [Jonathan], and was a friend
of Bagoses, who had promised to procure him the high priesthood. In confidence
of whose support, Jesus quarrelled with John in the temple, and so provoked his
brother [Jonathan], that in his anger his brother [Jonathan] slew him [Jesus].
Now it was a horrible thing for John [Jonathan], when he was high priest, to
perpetrate so great a crime, and so much the more horrible, that there never was
so cruel and impious a thing done, neither by the Greeks nor Barbarians"
(Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, Chapter VII, Paragraph 1). The high priest, spiritual leader of all priests and Levites, whose duty it
was to uphold the law of God, had committed murder in the temple of God! Under
Jonathan's influence, the Levitical priesthood became more and more corrupt. By
the late 400's B.C., the priesthood was so corrupt that God inspired Malachi to
write, "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a
Father [Hebrew av, meaning lord, master, teacher, advisor,
counsellor], where is Mine honour? and if I be a Master, where is My
fear? saith the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah of hosts unto you, O
priests, that despise My name. And ye say, 'Wherein have we
despised Thy name?' Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar;
and ye say, 'Wherein have we polluted Thee?' In that ye say, 'The table of
the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] is
contemptible"'(Mal. 1:6-7). The priests had such little regard for God's name that they "snivelled" at
the importance of God's altar. "But ye have profaned it [Me],
in that ye say, 'The table [altar] of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah
is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even His meat, is contemptible.' Ye said
also, 'Behold, what a weariness is it!' and ye have snuffed [an archaism for
sniffed or puffed, meaning to show disdain and scorn by snivelling or
pooh-poohing] at it [God's altar], saith the LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah] of hosts..." (Mal. 1:12-13). So perverse was the attitude of the Levitical priesthood at this time that
God began to resist and fight against them. Their rebelliousness might be
phrased in modern English as an attitude of, "God, what difference does it make
how we worship You as long as we love You? If we observe Sunday, Christmas and
Easter; and believe in the Trinity, we are only doing so to glorify Your name."
God's response was not one of acceptance: "And now, 0 ye priests, this
commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart,
to give glory unto My name, saith the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah of hosts, I will even
send a curse [Hebrew arar, to bind, to hem in with obstacles; to render
powerless, to resist] upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have
cursed them already, because ye do not lay It to heart. Behold, I will
corrupt [Hebrew ghaar, scold, rebuke, reprove,
threaten] your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the
dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with
it" (Mal. 2:1-3). God was so angry at their insolence that He proclaimed, "The
LORD [Hebrew Jehovah will cut off the man that
doeth this, the master [the watchman that waketh] and the scholar [the
watchman that answereth], out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth
an offering unto the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] of
hosts" (Mal. 2:12). These temple watchmen were the very Levites placed in charge
of protecting the temple and its contents, the most important part of which was
the Word of God! The guardians of the temple service, the guardians of the Word
of God, so despised God's name and His Word that they
robbed God of his temple tithe (Mal. 3:8). The result was that the wages of the
hireling were being taxed, the widow and fatherless received no support, and
needy stranger was being turned aside (Mal.3:5). As the history of period
attests, the Levites were using the tithe to finance real estate deals,
businesses, building projects and cultural events (Wacholder, Eupolemus A Study
of Judaeo-Greek Literature, pp. 1-21). These Levites had made themselves
ambassadors to the nations of the ancient world. As ambassadors, they were using
the tithe to sponsor cultural events! They presided over one of the greatest
"tithing and loan" scandals ever known. I am sure
they justified this misuse of God's tithe as "doing the Lords work. Their departure from the true worship of God did not stop here. The priests
openly committed adultery and corrupted their seed by divorcing their wives and
intermarrying with Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptian Edomites and Samaritans
(Josephus was descended from one of the bastard lines). The priests also dabbled
in sorcery (consorting with evil spirits and their perverse doctrines). They
even began to create pseud scriptures, rewriting the Old Testament and falsely
reconstructing the history of Israel. The Levites, who were the appointed teachers of the
Word of God, had forsaken the true teachings of God and were
swearing to falsehoods as though they were God's truth. God
warned them, "And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift
witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against
false swearers for "them that swear to a falsehood"],
and against those that oppress the hireling in his
wages [taxing a hireling's wages was forbidden by God's law], the widow, and the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me,
saith the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah of hosts" Mal. 3:5 . Within a little more than one hundred years after the time of Ezra and
Nehemiah, the Levitical priesthood was guilty of the grossest of spiritual
offenses. It was at this time in history that Alexander the Great advanced with
his army against the land of Palestine. Jaddua, son of the wicked Jonathan, was
high priest when Alexander the Great conquered Palestine Here is Josephus'
account of the meeting of this influential high priest with Alexander: "Now when
John [Jonathan] had departed this life, his son Jaddua succeeded in the high-
priesthood" (Book XI Chapter VII Paragraph 2) .... Now Alexander [the Great], when he had taken Gaza [332/331 B.C.], made haste
to go up to Jerusalem; and Jaddua the high priest, when he heard that, was in
agony, and under terror, as not knowing how he should meet the Macedonians,
since the king was displeased at his foregoing disobedience .... And when he
[Jaddua] understood that he [Alexander] was not far from the city, he [Jaddua]
went out in procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The
procession was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other
nations .... And when the Book of Daniel was showed him [Alexander], wherein
Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the
Persians, he [Alexander] supposed that himself was the person intended"
(Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, Chapter VIII, Paragraphs 4 and 5). Alexander the Great was a young man of twenty-three years at this time. He
had seen the high priest and his procession in a dream, and the high priest
Jaddua had seen Alexander in a dream. When the two met for the first time,
Alexander knelt before the high priest. Then Alexander and his army accompanied
the high priest and his procession to the temple, where Alexander offered
sacrifices to the God Who had foretold his conquests. When Alexander captured the land of Palestine in 332/331 B.C., the people of
Judah accepted the Greeks with open arms. The Jews were already well acquainted
with Greek culture. Many Jews and Levites had for years been living in the
cities of Greece. It was common practice for Levites and others of Judah to
participate in the culture, commerce and literature of the world around. Judah
was not a closed society, as is pictured by many scholars today. About fifty years later, when Ptolemy of Egypt asked that the Hebrew Old
Testament be translated into Greek, the Levites were able to complete the entire
work in only seventy days. The Hebrew Old Testament was translated into the
Greek Septuagint about 285-250 B.C. Scholars are puzzled by the fact that the Hebrew Old Testament was so quickly
translated into the Greek Septuagint. The translators certainly had to be fluent
both in Hebrew and in the Greek of that age. What is even more puzzling is the
fact that the Septuagint is written in the distinct dialect of Alexandrian
Greek. But Alexandria was not founded until conquest of Alexander the Great in
332/331 B.C., and the Septuagint was translated by the Levites at Alexandria
only fifty to eighty years later. How was this possible? The answer lies in the fact that many Levites who had been living in Greece
moved to Alexandria at or shortly after its founding in 332/331 B.C. These
Levites, who were gifted in literature and language, could speak and write
fluently in Greek long before Ptolemy every dreamed of translating the Hebrew
Old Testament into the Greek language. They had lived in the Greek culture. They
spoke the same dialect as those Greeks who moved to the new city of Alexandria!
That is how they were able to translate the Septuagint in the dialect of the
Alexandrian Greeks. When Alexander conquered Palestine, the Hebrew Old Testament had not yet been
translated into the Greek Septuagint. How then could Alexander have read the
prophecy in the book of Daniel? It is doubtful that Alexander could read Hebrew.
It is more likely that by 332/331 B.C. the Jerusalem Levites, the Massorites in
charge of the Old Testament, had already translated all or parts of the book of
Daniel into Greek. It is not difficult to understand how the Septuagint could be
completed in only seventy days, if parts of the Old Testament had already been
translated before the Septuagint was commissioned by Ptolemy. The Septuagint translation is significant in that it gives us a clue to the
time period in which the Massorites altered the Hebrew text of the Old
Testament. When the Septuagint was first translated, the names of God in Psalm
110 were left untranslated as Yhvh, showing that the Massorites had not yet
changed Jehovah to Adonay. This fact indicates that the Massorites did not begin
to tamper with the text until some time after 250 B.C. It is highly
probable that the Massoritic Levites began tampering with the
Old Testament text during the period from 250 to 200 B.C.,
provoking God's anger and precipitating the invasion of
Antiochus Epiphanies in 167 B.C. So evil were the Levites by this time that God began to scatter them, turning
the priesthood over to Levitical impostors, the Maccabees, [[ As a reaction to the Levitical line of the Hasmoneans
(the Maccabees) assuming control over the priesthood, the legitimate line of
priests (under Onias III) fled to Egypt (see Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of
Jesus, pp. 185-186), where some of their Levitical cousins had been since the
Assyrian conquests of the 700's B.C. Descendants of these Levitical priests
formed the community of ascetics that later became known as the Therpeutae. The bastard line of Josephus, the line of Tobiah the Ammonite, fled toward
their ancient homeland, the desert regions of Judea along the Ammon/Moabite
border by the Dead Sea. This line of Levites formed the sect that later became
known as the Qumran or Essen community.]] and fulfilling His prophecy in Malachi by "smearing dung all over their
faces." They hated His name and defiled His altar so much that God brought the
Seleucidae of Syria against the temple and allowed pigs to be sacrificed on the
altar! The records of both history and the Scriptures show that the Levitical
priesthood had become totally corrupted by the time the Massoritic changes were
introduced into the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Rather than revering the
name Jehovah, the priests despised it, as the Spirit of God inspired the prophet
Malachi to proclaim. This degenerate condition of the priesthood is the true
historical setting in which the name Jehovah was changed to Adonay. Could it be that the Levitical priesthood was so corrupt that they had turned
from the worship of the true Jehovah Adon of Israel to the false Chaldean Adon,
who was worshipped by the people of Israel and Judah during the time period just
before the captivity of Israel? The prophet Isaiah was inspired to record the
Babylonish worship of Israel and Judah: "I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which
walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; a people that
provoketh Me to anger continually to My face; that sacrificeth in gardens
[asherah groves of trees], and burneth incense upon altars of brick [the eternal
fire of Baal]; which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments
[consulting with the spirits of the dead], which eat swine's
flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; which say, 'Stand by
thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.' These are a smoke in
My nose, a fire that burneth all the day" (Isa. 65:2-5). In the following chapter, Isaiah describes these abominations in more detail:
"They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens [asherah
groves of fir trees] behind [after] one tree [the word tree is
not in the Hebrew text] in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination,
and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD
[Hebrew Jehovah]" (Isa. 66:17). Hislop states the following concerning this verse: "The words in our
translation are, 'behind one tree,' but there is no word in the original for
'tree'; and it is admitted by Lowth, and the best orientalists, that the
rendering should be, 'after the rites of Achad,' i.e., 'The
Only One .. "(The Two Babylons, footnote, p.
16).
Several leading authorities support this translation of saiah 66:17. W.
Robertson Nicoll states: "...in literal translation of the text, the One..."
(The Expositor's Bible, Isaiah, p. 463). Adam Clarke translates "behind one
tree--", as "after the rites of Achad [One]" and goes on to explain that the
Massorites tampered with Isaiah 66:17 by changing Achad to the feminine "achath,
" or moon (A Commentary and Critical Notes, Isaiah to Malachi, Vol. IV, p. 246).
Matthew Henry states, "... as we read it, behind one tree in the midst, behind
Ahad or Ehad, some idol that they worshipped by that name and in honour of which
they ate swine's flesh" (Commentary on the Whole Bible, Isaiah to Malachi, Vol.
IV, p. 394).
As we can readily determine in our own Bibles, the word "tree" in Isaiah
66:17 is italicized, showing that it is not in the Hebrew text. The phrase in
question thus reads "........in the gardens behind one in the midst...." The
word garden" is the Hebrew gannah and is referring to the asherah groves of fir
trees in which this worship was conducted. The word "behind" is the Hebrew
ah-ghar and should be translated "after," as it is in Judges
8:33: "went a whoring after Baalim." These Israelite devotees
ritualistically sanctified and purified themselves and ate swine's flesh, the
abomination and the mouse because they were honouring and seeking the presence
of the One, the Achad. This "Achad" or "One" of the Babylonians was none other than
Nimrod of old, also known as Adon or Adonis (Hislop, The Two Babylons, p. 312).
The Greeks knew Nimrod, or Adon, as Athan and so worshipped him in the district
of Laodicea of Asia Minor. Hislop shows a possible link with the worship of
Athan in the pronunciation of the Hebrew Adon. He states, "The Hebrew Adon, 'The
Lord,' is, with the points, pronounced Athon" (Ibid., p. 20). When we understand God's condemnation of Israel's pagan practices in Isaiah
66:17, it is clear that His people were worshipping a false Adon, the "Holy One"
of the Chaldean's--also called Atun or Aton, the "Holy One" of the Egyptians,
and Athan, the "Holy One" of the Greeks--not the true Jehovah/Adon of the Old
Testament! Hislop shows how greatly this worship of the "One" provoked God's wrath: "So
utterly idolatrous was the Babylonian recognition of the Divine unity [the three
in "One"], that Jehovah, the Living God, severely condemned His own people for
giving any countenance to it: 'They that sanctify themselves in the gardens,
after the rites of the ONLY ONE, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and
the mouse, shall be consumed together' (Isaiah 66:17)" (Ibid., p. 16).
"The LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] said unto my Lord [Hebrew Adon, the Messiah], Sit
Thou [the Messiah] at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool
[quoted in Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42-43, Acts 2:34-35, Hebrews
1:13]. The LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] shall send the rod of Thy strength out of Zion:
rule Thou [the Messiah] in the midst of Thine enemies. Thy people shall be
willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of
the morning: Thou [the Messiah] hast the dew of Thy youth. The LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah] hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou [the Messiah] art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek [quoted in Hebrews 5:6 and 7:17] " Ps.110:
1-4). The following verses continue the prophetic description of this Adon who
would become the Messiah. Notice especially Verse 5. In this verse, the Hebrew
name Yhvh, or Jehovah, in the original Hebrew text was changed by the Massorites
to read Adonay. "The Lord [Hebrew Adonay, originally Jehovah, referring to the Messiah] at
Thy [the first Jehovah's] right hand shall strike through kings in the day of
His wrath. He [Jehovah, the Messiah] shall judge among the heathen, He shall
fill the places with the dead bodies; He shall wound the heads over many
countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall He lift up
the head" (Ps.110: 5-7). Verse 5 in the original Hebrew text clearly shows two Jehovah's! This key
verse in Psalm 110 identifies the Adon in Verse 1 as a second Jehovah. The
context reveals that this Jehovah/Adon sitting at the right hand of the first
Jehovah is the Messiah. The recorded words of Jesus Christ Himself attest to
this very fact.
No interpretation of Psalm 110 is more authoritative than the Scriptural
record of the words spoken by Jesus Christ. He was the promised Messiah about
Whom the psalm was written. What did Psalm 110 mean to Christ? How did He
interpret the words, "The Lord said unto my Lord"? Let us examine the exact words of Jesus Christ as Matthew was inspired to
record them, and then look at the accounts in the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Matthew's Gospel written in Greek for Greek-speaking Christians at Jerusalem
circ. 50 A.D., quotes Christ as stating that the psalmist David wrote under the
inspiration of the Spirit of God. Thus Psalm 110 carries the full authority of
inspired Scripture! This psalm is not the mere musing of an uneducated shepherd
boy who had become king of Israel. Psalm 110 expresses the very thoughts and
words of God Himself. In Christ's quotation of Psalm 110 in the Gospel of Matthew, we find the
Greek word Kurios, or Lord, used in place of the Old Testament name Jehovah. The
Greek word Kurios, the equivalent of Jehovah, is also used in place of the name
Adon. Here is New Testament confirmation that the name Jehovah applies equally
to the Adon in Verse 1 of Psalm 110! This use of Kurios in the Gospel of Matthew verifies the accuracy of Psalm
110 as written by David. in the original Hebrew text. It was no slip of the pen
when David described the divine Being in Verse 5 of Psalm 110 as "The Jehovah at
Thy right hand." Matthew's record of Christ's words shows that David correctly
named the divine Being sitting to the right of Jehovah as another Jehovah.
Jesus' own words reveal that this Jehovah Who sits at the right hand of the
first Jehovah is the Son of Jehovah. Here are the words of Christ Himself as
recorded by Matthew: "While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, "What
think ye (of Christ? whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The son of David. He
saith unto them, How then doth David in Spirit call Him Lord [Greek Kurios,
equivalent to Hebrew Jehovah], saying, The Lord [Greek Kurios, or
Jehovah the Father] said unto my Lord [Greek Kurios, or Jehovah the Son], Sit
Thou [the Son] on My right hand, till I [the Father] make Thine enemies Thy
footstool? If David then calls Him Lord [Greek Kurios, or Jehovah],
how is He [the Messiah] his Son? And no man was able to answer him a word,
neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions" (Mat.
22:41-46). The Jews of Jesus' day could not answer Jesus' question because they were
blinded to the truth that is revealed in Psalm 110. They had been misled by
their religious leaders into believing that Jehovah was the name of a single
divine Being. They were convinced that there was only one Jehovah in the entire
Old Testament. After all, that was the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees.
These religious leaders claimed that there could never be more than one divine
Being. They viewed the prophesied Messiah strictly as a national deliverer and a
physical descendant of King David. When we read Jesus' statements concerning Psalm 110 in the Gospel of Mark, we
find an accompanying warning from Jesus to be on guard against the doctrine of
the scribes. Why? Because they denied the revealed truth of Scripture! They had
blinded their eyes to the two Jehovah's of Psalm 110 and other Old Testament
passages. While they professed to worship the God of Scripture, the scribes had
long ago turned to a religion of "strict monotheism." It was the rigid
monotheistic tradition of Judaism that led them to reject the truth that the
prophesied Messiah (the very Jesus standing before them) was known as Jehovah in
the Old Testament. They could not answer Jesus' question concerning the second
Kurios in Psalm 110 because they did not want to admit that the Scriptures
revealed two Jehovah's. Notice Jesus' words and warning: Luke also records Jesus' quotation of Psalm 110 and repeats Jesus' warning to
His followers not to fall into the error of the scribes. Notice Luke's
testimony:
When the apostle Peter quoted Psalm 110 in his Pentecost sermon in 30 A.D.,
he clearly identified both the Jehovah Who is speaking in the prophecy and the
Jehovah Who sits at His right hand. Peter's inspired interpretation of Psalm 110
makes it plain that David was not referring to himself when he wrote this psalm.
Peter quotes Psalm 110 to prove that the Being sitting at the right of Jehovah
is not David but the EXALTED Jesus Christ! Peter affirms that
Jesus Christ was with Jehovah and was Jehovah before He became flesh. In Peter's inspired sermon, recorded in Acts 2, he testifies that the Jehovah
on the left in Psalm 110:1 is both Theos (verse 32) and Kurios (verse 34), and
that the Jehovah on the right is both Kurios (verses 34-35) and Christos (verse
35). Peter boldly declares that it is Theos, the Father, Who has exalted Jesus
and made Him Christos. Here is Peter's inspired testimony Peter's words clearly show that the Jehovah Adon of Psalm 110 Who is sitting
at the right hand of Jehovah is not King David! Peter emphatically states that
David is still in his grave, and that it is Jesus, Jehovah of the Old Testament
and Kurios Christos of the New, Who has been raised from the dead by the power
of the Father. It is the risen Christ Who has been exalted to sit at the right
hand of God.
The apostle Paul also testifies that the Jehovah Adon of Psalm 110 is Jesus
Christ, the Son of Jehovah. In the first chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews,
Paul identifies the Jehovah on the left hand in Psalm 110 as Theos the Father,
and the Jehovah on the right hand as Theos the Son. Paul's use of the Greek word
Theos in this passage to name both the Father and the Son makes it clear that
the Son is God in the full sense of the word. He is Theos by the same definition
that the Father is Theos. Paul emphasizes this truth by quoting several Old
Testament passages to prove that the Son (Greek Huios) is not a glorified angel
or a superhuman being, but that He eternally pre-existed as God. Here is Paul's
testimony: But to which of the angels [Greek aggelos] said He [the
Father] at any time, Sit on My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy
footstool?" (Heb. 1:1-13.) In this passage, Paul offers irrefutable proof from the Old Testament to
convince all who question the eternal existence of Jesus Christ as God. To
remove every doubt, Paul quotes the testimony of the Father Himself in Psalm 45
as evidence that Jesus Christ is God and will reign as God for all eternity. As
proof of the preexistence of Jesus Christ as Jehovah of the Old Testament, Paul
quotes Psalm 102 to demonstrate that Christ shared full power and authority with
the Father in the creation of the heavens and the earth. Paul's purpose in quoting these Old Testament scriptures was to shut the
mouths of those who deny that Jesus Christ is God and that He has existed from
the beginning as God--a fully divine Being. In an earlier epistle, Paul
specifically named Christ as the Rock of the Old Testament, the God Who
covenanted with Israel (1 Cor.10:4). In view of all the New Testament evidence,
it is utter nonsense to deny the eternal preexistence of Jesus Christ as Creator
and Lord, or Jehovah, of the Old Testament.
In Psalm 2, we find another passage which clearly refers to two divine
Beings. When we read the entire psalm, we find that these divine Beings are
identified as the Jehovah Who became the Father and the Jehovah Who became the
Son. As in other psalms referring to two Jehovah's, the Levites modified the
Hebrew text, changing the name Jehovah in Verse 4 of Psalm 2 to Adonay. But
removing the name Jehovah from Verse 4 cannot hide the fact that there were two
Jehovah's. The use of the name Jehovah in other verses in this psalm shows that
this divine name is referring to two separate and distinct Beings. There is no question that the Jehovah in this passage is the divine Being Who
became the Father. In Verse 6 we find this Jehovah speaking of His future King,
the Messiah. Verse 7 reveals that the promised Messiah would be the Son of this
Jehovah. These verses in Psalm 2 clearly reveal that there were two Jehovah's in Old
Testament times. When we examine the context in which the name, Jehovah is used,
it is evident that the Jehovah in Verse 7 is the divine Being Who would become
the Father of the Messiah, and that the Jehovah in Verse 11 is the divine Being
Who would become the Messiah, His Son. In Verses 7-9, we find the Jehovah Who
would become the Son declaring what the first Jehovah, His future Father, had
decreed.
In quoting Psalm 2, Jesus Christ confirmed that He was the Jehovah Who became
the Son, to Whom Jehovah the Father delivered the decrees of rulership over all
nations. Here are Christ's own words concerning these decrees: Here Jesus boldly proclaims that He is the Son, the Jehovah/Messiah of Psalm
2, Who received the decrees of world rulership from Jehovah the Father. Later in
the book of Revelation, the apostle John adds his testimony to the weight of
Scriptural evidence. John was inspired to describe Jesus Christ in Revelation 19
as the Word of God, now restored to His full power and glory in heaven, and soon
to rule the nations as KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS. In this passage, John quotes part of Psalm 2:9, confirming
that Jesus Christ is the Jehovah/Messiah Who was given the decrees of world
rulership by Jehovah the Father. Here is John's testimony: And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the
nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron [as decreed in Psalm 2:9]:
and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God [Greek
Pantokrator Theos, referring to Jehovah the Father, Who delivered the decrees].
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND
LORD OF LORDS [Greek Basileus basileus kai Kurios kurios, future
title of Jehovah the Son]" (Rev. 19:11-16).
As John testifies in his Gospel, this same Word of God was with God and was
God before He became a fleshly human being (John 1:1, 14). John also shows in
Revelation 12 that after His days in the flesh, Jesus was restored to His former
glory and now sits with the Father on His throne;Rev. 12:5
These words in the book of Revelation confirm that Jesus Christ is the
Messiah of Psalm 2 Who will rule the nations of this world with a rod of iron!
He is the Jehovah described in Psalm 2:11 Who has become the Son. He alone has
been glorified and exalted by Jehovah the Father and will soon return to rule
the earth as King of kings. That is the true teaching of the New Testament!
In the book of Acts, we find evidence that all the apostles understood that
the prophecies in Psalm 2 would be fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The combined
prayer of the assembled apostles in Acts 4 shows that they understood that the
prophecies in Psalm 2 were referring to Jesus Christ and were, in fact,
beginning to be fulfilled in their days! Here is their prayer as recorded by
Luke: "And we [Paul and his co-workers] declare unto you glad tidings, how that
the promise which was made unto the fathers, God [Greek Theos,
the Father] hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in
that He [the Father] bath raised up Jesus [the Son]
again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My
Son; this day have I [the Father] begotten [resurrected] Thee
[Psalm 2:7]. And as concerning that He [the Father] raised Him up
from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He
[the Father] said on this wise, I [the Father] will give
You [the Son] the sure mercies of David [Isa. 55:3]. Wherefore
He [the Father] saith also in another psalm [Psalm 16:101, Thou [the
Father] shalt not suffer Thine Holy One [the Son]
to see corruption" (Acts 13:32-35). Paul's inspired interpretation of Psalm 2:7 makes it clear that it was on
"this day"--the day of His resurrection to
immortality--that Jesus became the glorified Son of God. Contrary to
the popular Trinitarian teaching, there has not always been a
Son in the Godhead! The Father Himself has revealed that He did
not have an eternal, immortal Son until He raised up Jesus from the dead. Paul
emphatically states that it was in reference to
Christ's resurrection that the Father declared, "Thou art
My Son; this day have I begotten Thee." In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul shows that when Jesus Christ was
resurrected from the dead by the power of the Father, He was also glorified by
the Father. Paul again quotes Psalm 2:7 in reference to Christ's resurrection to
glory. "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things
pertaining to God [Greek Theos, the Father], that he may offer both gifts and
sacrifices for sins .... And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that
is called of God [Greek Theos, the Father], as was Aaron. So also Christ [Greek
Christos, the Son] glorified not Himself to be made an High
Priest; but He [the Father] that said unto Him, Thou art My
Son, to day have I begotten [resurrected] Thee [Psalm 2:7,
quoted from the Septuagint]. As He [the Father] saith
also in another place, Thou [the Son] art a priest for ever after
the order of Melchisedec [Psalm 110:5, quoted from the Septuagint]" (Heb.
5:1-6). These New Testament interpretations make it undeniably clear that the
Jehovah/Messiah of Psalm 2 became the glorified Son of God on the
day of His resurrection to immortality. On
"this day" He was exalted and restored to the full power and
glory that He shared with the Father (The Ancient of days) in the beginning as
the Word of God (John 1:1; 17:5). Now the Son of God, He is both our Savior and
High Priest, ever living to make intercession for us with the Father. And, as
the reglorified Word of God; He is preparing to return
to this earth to rule all nations with a rod of iron, as the
Father has decreed.
As recorded in Acts 13, when Paul proclaimed Jesus Christ as the
Jehovah/Messiah of Psalm 2, he also testified that Jesus is the
"Holy One" of Psalm 16. When we examine the context of
the verse in Psalm 16 which Paul quoted, we find that the "Holy One," or
Messiah, is also called Jehovah, and that He
is addressing a second divine Being. As in other passages which reveal two
divine Beings, the Massorites altered the name Jehovah to read Adonay. We find
this modification in Verse 2 of Psalm 16. Psalm 16 begins with David's prayer to God. In Verse 2, David addresses his
God both as "Lord" [Jehovah] and as "my Lord." David is clearly
speaking to the same divine Being Who is called "my Lord"
in Verse 1 of Psalm 110. As we have seen, this divine Being
is the Jehovah Who was prophesied to become the Messiah and
Son. David's Lord is revealed in all of David's psalms as the Son. These psalms
prophesy that He would be both the Son of David and the Son of Jehovah. In many
of these prophecies, we find one divine Being speaking to another, giving us
much insight into the relationship that existed before one Jehovah became the
Son of the other Jehovah. It is important to understand that when David wrote of a
Father/Son relationship between these two
divine Beings, it was yet future. This truth must be
emphasized, as false teachers are now claiming that the Son has
always been the Son, and that the Father has always been the Father! They ignore
the fact that the Scriptures reveal two Jehovahs Who
existed side by side until one of these Jehovahs left
His glory and became a fleshly human being. This Jehovah became Jesus Christ,
the Messiah, Who suffered and died. He did not become the eternal Son of God
until the day of His resurrection, as Paul testifies in Acts 13:33, where he
quotes Psalm 16. In David's prayer in Psalm 16, David calls the Jehovah Who was prophesied to
become the Son by the name El. This fact is significant because
El has always been viewed as a divine name referring only to
the Father. Here is David's prayer to the Jehovah Who would become the Messiah:
"Preserve me, 0 God [Hebrew El, the future Messiah]: for in
Thee do I put my trust. 0 my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD [Hebrew
Jehovahs, the future Messiah], Thou art my Lord [Hebrew Adonay,
originally Jehovah]: my goodness extendeth not to [beyond]
Thee; but to [concerning] the saints that are in the earth, and to the
excellent, in whom [them] is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied
that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer,
nor take up their names into my lips. The LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the future Messiah]
is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: Thou maintainest my
lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly
heritage. I will bless the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the
future Messiah], who hath given me counsel: my reins also
instruct me in the night seasons" (Psa. 16:1-7). At this point David ceases to speak about himself. The psalm continues in the
first person, but now becomes a prophecy of the
Messiah. The Jehovah Who will become the Messiah is addressing
the Jehovah Who will become the Father! One Jehovah, the future Messiah, is
speaking in the first person to another Jehovah, the future Father, Whom the
first Jehovah addresses as "Thou." Notice David's prophecy concerning the
Messiah: "I [the Messiah] have set the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the
Father] always before Me: because He [the Father] is
at My right hand, I [the Messiah] shall not be moved. Therefore My heart is
glad, and My glory rejoiceth: My flesh also shall rest in hope [prophesying His
death]. For Thou [the Father] wilt not leave My soul in
hell [the grave]; neither wilt Thou [the Father] suffer Thine
Holy One [the Messiah] to see corruption [prophesying
His resurrection]. Thou [the Father] wilt show Me [the Messiah] the path of life
[prophesying His ascension]: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy
[the Father's] right hand [where the Messiah sits] there are
pleasures for evermore" (Psa. 16:8-11). None can deny that these verses written by David are an inspired prophecy in
which one Jehovah, the future Messiah, is speaking to another Jehovah, the
future Father. Any who doubt that these verses prophesy a future Father/Son
relationship between two divine Beings need only turn to the New Testament to
find absolute Scripture verification. Inspired interpretation of Psalm 16 by
both Peter and Paul have been preserved for us in the book of acts. Let us first
examine the testimony of the apostle Peter as recorded in Acts 2.
In Acts 2, we find Peter's inspired sermon on the day of Pentecost, in which
he proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Jehovah/Messiah of Psalm 16, Who had been
resurrected from the grave by Jehovah the Father. Here is Peter's testimony: "For David speaketh concerning Him [not about David], I [the
Messiah] foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is on My right hand,
that I should not be moved: therefore did My heart rejoice, and My tongue was
glad; moreover also My flesh shall rest in hope: because
Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell [the grave], neither
wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption ....
He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that
His soul was not left in hell [the grave], neither His flesh did see corruption.
This Jesus hath God [Greek Theos, the Father]
raised up, whereof we all are witnesses" (Acts 2:25-27, 31-32). Peter's inspired interpretation gives us irrefutable proof that Jesus Christ
was the Jehovah of Psalm 16 Who became the Messiah. When it was time for Him to
come to earth as the Messiah, He committed His power and glory to the
Jehovah Who became the Father. He gave up His divinity
and became flesh in order that He might die (Heb. 2:14). Psalm 16
describes His anticipation of His resurrection and His return to glory. These prophesied events had all been fulfilled when Peter stood before a
crowd of thousands who had gathered at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Peter
boldly proclaimed that Jesus bad been resurrected to immortality by Jehovah the
Father, exactly as David had prophesied. When he quoted David's psalm, Peter
made it clear that these verses did not refer to David but specifically
concerning the Messiah, and that they had been fulfilled by the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter's testimony was later affirmed by the
apostle Paul, as recorded in Acts 13.
Paul's inspired interpretation in Acts 13 verifies that the prophecy in Psalm
16 is not speaking of David but refers to the Messiah. As we saw in our study of
Psalm 2, Paul is testifying in Acts 13 that David's prophecies concerning the
Jehovah/Messiah had been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Notice again Paul's inspired
testimony: "And we [Paul and his co-workers] declare unto you glad tidings, how that the
promise which was made unto the fathers, God [Greek Theos, the Father] hath
fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He [the Father] hath raised
up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My
Son, this day have I [the Father] begotten [resurrected] Thee
[Psalm 2:7]. And as concerning that He [the Father] raised Him [the
Son] up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He [the Father] said
on this wise, I [the Father] will give You [the Son] the sure
mercies of David [Isa. 55:3]. Wherefore He [the Father] saith
also in another psalm [Psalm 16: 1 0], Thou [the
Father] shalt not suffer Thine Holy One [the Son] to see
corruption" (Acts 13:32-35). Paul makes it absolutely clear that there was no Son in the
Godhead until the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
On that day, two divine Beings Who had eternally existed as God entered
into a Father/Son relationship. The original relationship between the two
divine Beings Who were both known as Jehovah in Old Testament times
changed forever when one Jehovah became the Father and the
other Jehovah became the Son. Paul's inspired words reveal that the Godhead is not absolutely
fixed and unchangeable, as religious philosophers have claimed!
The Godhead changed when one of the Jehovahs
emptied Himself of His divinity and became flesh. For
thirty-three years, He lived among men as a fleshly human being named
Jesus. When Jesus died, there was only one Jehovah in the entire universe. The
Jehovah Who had become Jesus no longer existed! When Jesus was resurrected by
the power of the only remaining Jehovah, the relationship between them
changed forever. At the precise moment of Jesus' resurrection, the
remaining Jehovah became the Father and the reglorified former
Jehovah became the Son! They had not existed in this Father/Son relationship
before that time. Those who claim otherwise are denying the plain truth of
Scripture!
Another psalm which depicted in advance a Father/Son relationship between the
two divine Beings of the Old Testament is Psalm 22. This psalm reveals the
personal thoughts and deep emotions of the divine Being Who was prophesied to
become the Son as He foresaw the agony of His crucifixion and the joyous
resurrection that would follow. His prayer to His Father is filled with graphic
details and specific prophecies concerning the crucifixion. In His prayer, the divine Being Who would become the Son addresses the divine
Being Who would become the Father as El. As we have seen in Psalm 16, El is also
used in the Old Testament as a name of the divine Being Who
later became the Son. In Psalm 22, El refers to the divine
Being Who became the Father, showing that both divine Beings in the Godhead were
known as El. It is in the first verse of Psalm 22 that we find the name El used in
reference to the divine Being Who would become the Father. In Verse 2 of this
psalm, this same divine Being is called Elohim. Here is the Messiah's prayer to
His future Father: "My God, My God [Hebrew El, the divine Being Who would become the Father],
why hast Thou forsaken Me [the future Son]? why art Thou [the Father] so far
from helping Me [the Son], and from the words of My roaring? O My God [Hebrew
Elohim, referring to the Father], I [the Son] cry in the
daytime, but Thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But
Thou [the Father] art holy, O Thou that inhabits the praises of Israel. Our
fathers trusted in Thee: they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them. They cried unto Thee, and were delivered. they trusted in Thee, and were not
confounded. But I [the Son] am a worm, and no man, a reproach of men, and
despised of the people. All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn: they shoot out
the lip, they shake the head, saying, He [the Son] trusted on the LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah, referring to the Father] that He would deliver Him [the Son]: let Him
[the Father] deliver Him, seeing He [the Son] delighted in Him [the Father]"
(Psa. 22:1-8). Notice that in Verse 8 the future Son calls the divine Being Who would become
the Father by the name Jehovah. In Verses I and 2, this same divine Being is
called by the names El and Elohim. The fact that the Jehovah Who would become
the Father is called by two other names in the same passage shows that the
divine names El, Elohim, and. Jehovah are used interchangeably in Scripture.
When we examine the use of these names in other Scriptural passages, we find an
eye-opening revelation. Contrary to what some have claimed, these Old Testament
names do not refer exclusively to the divine Being Who became the Father. The
use of these divine names in the book of Psalms and other Scriptures shows that
all three names were shared equally by both divine Beings in the Godhead. The prayer of the future Messiah to the divine Being Who would become the
Father continues in Verse 9 and the following verses of Psalm 22.When we read
these verses, we find a graphic portrayal of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Notice the detailed prophecies that were fulfilled at His death: "But Thou [the Father] art He that took Me [the Son] out of the womb: Thou
didst make Me hope when I was upon My mother's breasts. I [the Son] was cast
upon Thee [the Father] from the womb: Thou art My God [Hebrew El] from My
mother's belly. Be not far from Me [the Son]; for trouble is near; for there is
none to help. Many bulls have compassed Me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset Me
round. They gaped upon Me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
I [the Son] am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint: My
heart is like wax; it Is melted in the midst of My bowels. My strength is dried
up like a potsherd; and My tongue cleaveth to My jaws; and Thou [the Father]
hast brought Me [the Son] into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed Me:
the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet.
I may tell [count] all my bones: they look and stare upon Me.
They part My garments among them, and cast tots upon My
vesture [quoted in Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:34 and
John 19:241" (Psa.22:9-18). As noted above, all four Gospel writers recorded this prophecy in their
accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, showing that He truly was the
divinely ordained Messiah of David's psalm. As we continue to read the Messiah's
prayer in this psalm, we find that His thoughts turn from the agony of His
prophesied death to the salvation that it would bring to many. He speaks of the
new spiritual Israel--the children of Abraham by faith-who would praise God for
the wonderful salvation that He had wrought. Let us read the Messiah's words in the following verses of Psalm 22. Note
that in Verse 19, the first verse of this section, the Messiah again addresses
the Father as Jehovah in the original Hebrew text. This verse is one of the 134
places where the name Jehovah was altered by the Massoritic Levites to read
Adonay. Regardless of the modification of the name, it is clear that the divine
Being in Verse 19 is the same divine Being as the Jehovah in Verse 8. In the
following passage, He is again called Jehovah in Verse 23. In each occurrence of
the name, the context reveals that this divine Being is the future Father of the
Messiah. "But be not Thou [the Father] far from Me [the Son], 0 LORD
[Hebrew Adonay, originally Jehovah, referring to the
Father]: 0 My strength, haste Thee to help Me [the Son]. Deliver My
soul from the sword; My darling from the power of the dog. Save Me from the
lion's mouth: for Thou [the Father] hast heard Me [the Son] from the horns of
the unicorns. I [the Son] will declare Thy Name [the Father] unto
My brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I
praise Thee [quoted in John 20:17]. Ye that fear the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah,
referring to the Father], praise Him [the
Father]; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him [the Father]; and fear Him [the
Father], all ye the seed of Israel. For He [the Father] hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the
afflicted; neither hath He [the Father] hid His face from Him [the Son]; but
when He [the Son] cried unto Him [the Father], He heard. My praise shall be of
Thee [the Father] in the great congregation: I [the Son] will pay My vows before
them that fear Him [the Father]" (Psa. 22:19-25). In the final section of Psalm 22 we again find the name Jehovah. This name
occurs four times in this section--In Verses 26, 27, 28 and 30. But in these
verses, as the context reveals, the name Jehovah does not refer to the divine
Being Who would become the Father. Every occurrence of the name Jehovah in this
part of Psalm 22 is a specific reference to the divine Being Who would become
the Son. This truth becomes evident when we read Verse 28, where this Jehovah is
revealed as the prophesied Messiah Who will rule all nations. The final occurrence of the name Jehovah in Psalm 22 was found in Verse 30 in
the original Hebrew text. The name Jehovah in this verse was altered by the
Massoritic Levites to read Adonay. Remember that they also modified the name
Jehovah in Verse 19. The change in Verse 30 was their second modification of the
name Jehovah in Psalm 22. It is interesting to note that in Verse 19, the name
Jehovah refers to the divine Being Who would become the Father. In Verse 30, the
name Jehovah refers to the divine Being who would become the
Son. In the original Hebrew text, these two verses plainly
revealed the existence of two Jehovahs. Here
are the inspired words of David concerning the Jehovah Who
would become the Son: "The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the
LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, referring to the Son]
that seek Him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the
world shall remember and turn unto the LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah, the Son]: and all the kindreds of the nations
shall worship before Thee [the Son]. For the kingdom is the
LORD'S [Hebrew Jehovah's, referring to the
Son]: and He [the Son] is the Governor among the nations.
All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down
to the dust shall bow before Him [the Son]: and none can keep alive his own
soul. A seed shall serve Him [the Son]; it shall be accounted to the
Lord [Hebrew Adonay, originally Jehovah,
referring to the Son] for a generation. They shall come, and shall
declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born,
that He [the Son] hath done this" (Psa.
22:26-3 1 ). All four Gospel writers quote Psalm 22 as evidence that Jesus Christ was the
prophesied Messiah--the Jehovah of the Old Testament Who became the Son. The New
Testament shows beyond a shadow of doubt that Jesus Christ had eternally
existed as God before He became flesh. David's prophecy in Verse 28 of
Psalm 22, concerning the Jehovah Who will rule the nations, also shows
that the resurrected Jesus Christ was restored to His former
glory and will return to earth to rule forever as
God.
The prophetic prayer of the Jehovah/Messiah in Psalm 22 is quoted in the New
Testament as the last prayer of Jesus before He died. In their Gospels, Matthew
and Mark were both inspired to record the anguished cry of Jesus during His
suffering, as prophesied in the first verse of Psalm 22: "My God, My God, why
hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Mat, 27:46, Mark 15:34.) The Gospel of John indicates
that Jesus may have spoken the entire psalm during His crucifixion. John records
that Jesus' last words before His death were, "It is finished" (John 19:30). As
The Companion Bible explains, this is the actual meaning and the proper
translation of the final words of Psalm 22. Whether or not Jesus spoke the entire psalm aloud, it is certain that every
verse was a reality in His mind as He felt death approaching. As the Jehovah of
the Old Testament Who would become the Son, He had inspired David to write these
verses. Their words held a message of both anguish and joy, foretelling His
grievous suffering and the triumphant glory that would follow. He looked forward
not only to His own rulership over the nations, but to the eternal salvation
that His death would bring to many, whom He calls "My brethren"
(verse 22). It was His great love for His future brethren, and His desire to share His
glory with them, that had brought Him to the humiliation and agony of the
crucifixion. Even as He suffered, he looked beyond his cruel and shameful death
to the joy of bringing us to glory' As the apostle Paul was inspired to write,
"Looking unto Jesus, the Author and finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2). When Jesus said, "It is finished," and drew his last breath, he knew that He
would awaken to immortality--as "the firstborn of many
brethren" (Rom, 8:29). Jesus is the first of many who
will be resurrected to become the immortal children of God--those whom
Jesus calls "My brethren" (Heb. 2:10-13). This
wonderful truth is revealed in the prayer of the Jehovah/Messiah of
Psalm 22!
Psalm 89 is one of two psalms which reveal that the two divine Beings of the
Old Testament were each known not only as Jehovah but as Jehovah Elohim. While
both divine Beings are spoken of in Psalm 89, only one of them is called Jehovah
Elohim in this psalm. However, in the following psalm, Psalm 90, the other
divine Being is also addressed as Jehovah Elohim. Let us first examine Psalm 89.
In the first verse, the psalmist praises Jehovah for His mercy and
faithfulness. In Verses 5 and 6, he again extols Him as Jehovah, and in Verse 7
as El. In the following verse, he addresses the same divine Being as Jehovah
Elohim. Here are the psalmist's inspired words.. "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] for ever: with my
mouth will I make known Thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said,
Mercy shall be built up for ever: Thy faithfulness shalt Thou establish in the
very heavens. I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David My
servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up Thy throne to all
generations. Selah. And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah]: Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints. For who in the
heaven can be compared unto the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah]? who among the sons of the
mighty can be likened unto the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah]?
God [Hebrew EL] is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the
saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him. O
LORD God [Hebrew Jehovah Elohim] of hosts, who
is a strong LORD [Hebrew Jah] like unto Thee? or to Thy
faithfulness round about Thee?" (Psa. 89:1-8.) Notice in Verse 8 that in addition to the name Jehovah Elohim, the psalmist
uses the name Jah, which is a shortened form of Jehovah. The fact that the
psalmist was inspired by the Holy Spirit to use these various divine names shows
that God does not have "one sacred name" by which He must be
addressed. In the following verses, the psalmist continues his song of praise to
Jehovah. In Verse 19, he refers to a second divine Being as "Thy
Holy One," showing that the Jehovah he is addressing
in this psalm is the Father of the Messiah. Notice the psalmist's words: "Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, Thou
stillest them. Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; Thou hast
scattered thine enemies with Thy strong arm. The heavens are Thine, the earth
also is Thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, Thou hast founded them.
The north and the south Thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice
in Thy name. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right
hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne: mercy and truth
shall go before Thy face. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, 0
LORD [Hebrew Jehovah], in the light of Thy
countenance. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in Thy
righteousness shall they be exalted. For Thou art the glory of their strength:
and in Thy favour our horn shall be exalted. For the LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah, the Father of the Messiah] is our defence;
and the Holy One of Israel [His Son the Messiah] is our king.
Then Thou [the Father] spakest in vision to Thy Holy
One [the Son], and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I
have exalted one chosen out of the people" (Psa. 89:9-19). Here we find one divine Being, the future Father, speaking to another divine
Being, the future Son and Messiah, concerning David, the chosen ruler of His
people. The next section of Psalm 89, while speaking directly of David, is also
a prophecy of the reign of his future seed--the Messiah. This dual meaning is
evident in the following verses: "I have found David My servant [quoted in Acts 13:22]; with
My holy oil have I anointed him: with whom My hand
shall be established: Mine hand also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not
exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his
foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. But My faithfulness and My
mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted. I 'll set his
hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto Me,
Thou art my father, my God [Hebrew El], and the Rock [Hebrew Zur] of my
salvation. Also I will make Him My firstborn, higher
[Hebrew Elyon, meaning "Most High," referring to the
Messiah] than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for ever more, and My covenant shall stand fast
with Him. His seed [the Messiah] also will I make to
endure for ever, and His throne as the days of heaven.
If his children forsake My law, and walk not in My judgments; if they
break My statutes, and keep not My commandments, then will I visit their
transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stnpes. Nevertheless My
loving-kindness will I not utterly take from Him, nor suffer My faithfulness to
fall. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My
lips. Once have I sworn by My holiness that I will not lie unto David.
His seed [the Messiah] shall endure for ever, and His
throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established for ever as the
moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah" (Psa. 89:20-37). As noted above, Verse 20 is quoted by the apostle Paul in the book of Acts.
In preaching Christ to the Jews at Antioch, Paul identified the Jehovah of Psalm
89 as the Father of the Messiah. Here is Paul's inspired
witness: "And when He [God] had removed him [Saul], He raised up unto them David to be
their king; to whom also He gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son
of Jesse, a man after Mine own heart, which shall fulfill all My will. Of this
man's seed hath God [the Jehovah of Psalm 89] according to His promise raised
unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus" (Acts 13:22-23). Paul clearly identifies the Jehovah Who spoke these words in Psalm 89 as the
Father of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah of the seed of David. In the last
section of Psalm 89, the psalmist again addresses Jehovah the Father, pleading
with Him to remember His covenant with David. In Verse 51, we find another
reference to the prophesied Messiah. As in other Scriptural passages which
reveal two divine Beings, the Massorites modified the original text. Notice that
there are two modifications of the name Jehovah in the following verses: "But Thou hast cast off and abhorred, Thou hast been wroth with Thine
anointed [David]. Thou hast made void the covenant of Thy servant: Thou hast
profaned his crown by casting it to the ground. Thou hast broken down all his
hedges; Thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin. All that pass by the way
spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours. Thou hast set up the right hand
of his adversaries; Thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice. Thou hast also
turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle. Thou
hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground. The days
of his youth hast Thou shortened: Thou hast covered him with shame. Selah. How
long, LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father of the
Messiah]? wilt Thou hide Thyself for ever? shall Thy wrath bum like fire? Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast Thou made all men in vain? What
man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from
the hand of the grave? Selah. Lord [Hebrew Adonay, originally
Jehovah, referring to the Father of the Messiah],
where are Thy former loving kindnesses, which thou swarest unto David
in Thy truth? Remember, Lord [Hebrew Adonay, originally
Jehovah, again referring to the Father], the reproach of Thy servants;
how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people; wherewith Thine
enemies have reproached, O LORD [Hebrew
Jehovah, the Father]; wherewith they have reproached
the footsteps of Thine Anointed [the Messiah]. Blessed be
the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father]
for even-more. Amen, and Amen" (Psa. 89:38-52). As Paul confirms in the New Testament, the Jehovah of Psalm 89 is the divine
Being Who became the Father. In Psalm 89, this divine Being is addressed by
several names, including Jehovah Elohim. In the following psalm, we will see
that the divine Being Who became His Son, the Messiah, was also known
by the name Jehovah Elohim.
Psalm 90, a prayer of Moses, is addressed to the Jehovah Who would become the
Son. In the original Hebrew text, the name Jehovah was found three times in this
psalm--In Verses 1, 13, and 17. The Massorites modified Verse I and Verse 17 to
make Jehovah read Adonay. Before this modification, Verse 17 revealed that the
divine Being Who became the Son was known in Old Testament times as Jehovah
Elohim. Moses begins his prayer by addressing the divine Being both as Jehovah
and as El. Here is Moses' prayer to the divine Being Who was prophesied to
become the Son: "LORD [Hebrew Adonay, originally Jehovah], Thou hast been our dwelling place
in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art
God [Hebrew El]. Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye
children of men. For a thousand years in Thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is past [quoted in
11 Peter 3:81, and as a watch in the night" (Psa. 90:1-4). In these verses, we do not find any direct statement to show us that the
Jehovah and El Whom Moses is addressing is the future Messiah. In order to
identify the divine Being of Moses' prayer, we must look to the New Testament.
It is the apostle Peter who enables us to know that Moses was addressing the
Jehovah Who would become the Messiah. When Peter quoted Verse 4 of Psalm 90, it
was in reference to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Peter tells us that "one
day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day," and
explains, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise [to return]" (II Pet.
3:8-9). Peter's interpretation of Moses' words clearly identifies the Jehovah and El
of Psalm 90 as the divine Being Who became Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah.
Let us read the remainder of Moses' prayer, and we will see that this divine
Being was also known in Old Testament times as Jehovah Elohim: "Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning
they are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth
up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth. For we are consumed by Thine
anger, and by Thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before
Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance. For all our days are
passed away in Thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of
our years are three score years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be
four score years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut
off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? even according to Thy fear, so is Thy
wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Return, 0 LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the future Son], how long? and let it repent
Thee concerning Thy servants. 0 satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may
rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein
Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let Thy work
appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty
of the LORD [Hebrew Adonay, originally
Jehovah] our God [Hebrew Elohim] be upon us: and
establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands
establish Thou it" (Psa. 90:5-17). Psalm 90, as originally inspired and written, reveals that the divine Being
of Moses' prayer is named Jehovah Elohim. The apostle Peter reveals that this
Jehovah Elohim of Psalm 90 became Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah and Son. As
we have seen in Psalm 89, the Father of the Messiah was also known as Jehovah
Elohim. When correctly understood, Psalm 89 and Psalm 90 reveal the existence of
two Jehovah Elohim! In Psalm 118, we again find the divine Being Who became the Father addressed
as both Jehovah and Elohim. This psalm also shows that the divine Being Who
became the Son was both Jehovah and Jah. Let us examine Psalm 118 in the light
of the New Testament.
Without the New Testament, we would not know that two Jehovahs are revealed
in Psalm 118. When we read this psalm, It appears that it is referring to only
one divine Being. Perhaps that is why the Massorites did not modify any of the
verses in Psalm 118, although the name Jehovah occurs numerous times. Let us
read the opening verses in this psalm, and then we will see how Paul interprets
them. Notice that in Verse 5 the psalmist addresses this Jehovah as Jah. "O give thanks unto the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah]; for He is good: because His
mercy endureth for ever. Let Israel now say, that His mercy endureth for ever.
Let the house of Aaron now say, that His mercy endureth for ever. Let them now
that fear the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] say, that his mercy endureth for ever. I
called upon the LORD [Hebrew Jah] in distress: the LORD [Hebrew Jah] answered
me, and set me in a large place. The LORD [Hebrew Jehovah] is on my side; I will
not fear: what can man do unto me? [quoted in Hebrews 13:6]" (Psa. 118:1-6.) As noted above, Verse 6 is quoted by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the
Hebrews. In this New Testament record, Paul clearly identifies the divine Being
Who is called both Jehovah and Jah in the opening verse of Psalm 118. Here is
Paul's inspired testimony: "...for He [Jesus] hath said, I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, Lord is my Helper, and I will
not fear what man shall do unto me" (Heb.13-.5-6 .) Paul's inspired words clearly identify the Jehovah and Jah of Psa 118:5-6 as
the divine Being Who became the Messiah and Son--Jesus Christ. This truth is
made clear in the following verses in Psalm 118 where this Jehovah is prophesied
to become the way of salvation: "The LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] taketh my part with them that help me:
therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in
the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] than to put confidence in man. It is better
to trust in the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah the Son] than to put confidence in princes.
All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the
Son] I will destroy them. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about
but in the name of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns:
for in the name of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] I will destroy them. Thou
hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son]
helped me. The LORD [Hebrew Jah, the Son] is my strength and song, and is become
my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the
righteous: the right hand of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] doeth valiantly.
The right hand of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] is exalted: the right hand
of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] doeth valiantly. I shall not die but live, and declare the works of the LORD [Hebrew Jah, the
Son] The LORD [Hebrew Jah, the Son] hath chastened me sore: but He hath not
given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into
them, and I will praise the LORD [Hebrew Jah, the Son] this gate of the LORD
[Hebrew Jehovah, the Son], into which the righteous shall enter. I will praise
Thee: for Thou hast heard me, and become my salvation" Psa. 118:1-21 . The concluding verses in Psalm 118 are clearly prophetic. Some of these
verses were quoted by Jesus Christ and His apostles as recorded in a number of
New Testament writings. These inspired records all testify that Jesus Christ was
the divine Being of Psalm 118 Who was prophesied to become the Messiah. When we read the concluding verses in Psalm 118, we find that they not only
foretell the coming of the Messiah, bait they also speak of the Jehovah Who will
be His Father. It now becomes obvious that there are two Jehovahs in this psalm.
Notice that in the following verses, the name Jehovah is no longer referring to
the Son, as in the preceding verses: "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
This is the LORD'S [Hebrew Jehovah's, referring to the Father] doing; it is
marvellous in our eyes [quoted in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, Luke 20:17, Acts
4:11, 1 Peter 2:4]. This is the day which the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father]
hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech Thee, O LORD
[Hebrew Jehovah, the Father]: O LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father], I beseech
Thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be He [the Messiah] that cometh in the name
of the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father]: [quoted in Matthew 21:9; 23:39, Mark
11:9, Luke 13:35; 19:38, John 12:13] we have blessed You out of the house of the
LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father]. God [Hebrew El] is the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father], which hath showed
us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Thou
art my God [Hebrew EL], and I will praise Thee: Thou art my God [Hebrew Elohim],
I will exalt Thee. O give thanks unto the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father]; for
he is good: for His mercy endureth for ever" (Psa. 118:22-29). As interpreted in the New Testament, the Jehovah in these final verses of
Psalm 118 is the divine Being Who became the Father. In these verses this
Jehovah is also called by the names El and Elohim. Here is additional Scriptural
evidence that these divine names are used interchangeably. The use of the divine
names Jehovah, Jah, El, Elohim, and Jehovah Elohim in Psalm 118 and other psalms
also shows that these names refer to two divine Beings. 48 The New Testament
reveals that one of these divine Beings became the Son and Messiah--Jesus
Christ--and the other divine Being became His Father. Thus both Old and New
Testaments affirm that there are two divine Beings Who are God. Nowhere does
Scripture reveal that there are more than two. Contrary to the belief of most professing Christians, God is not a
Trinity! This deceptive doctrine has been presented as a teaching of
Scripture when in reality it is contrary to Scripture. The Scriptures reveal the
Holy Spirit as the power of God--not as a divine "Person" or Being. Those who
accept and promote the doctrine of the Trinity are basing their belief on
ancient myths and vain philosophies of men. These false ideas are clothed in
religious words that appear to enlighten but actually darken the minds of the
hearers so that they cannot understand the simple truth of Scripture. That is
why most professing Christians do not understand the true nature of God. If we desire to know the true God--to worship Him in Spirit and in truth--we
must rid our minds of every false idea and every vain reasoning that exalts
itself against His Word. We must hold fast to the truth that is revealed in the
Scriptures--that both the Father and His Son Jesus Christ are God. They are the
two Jehovahs of the Old Testament and the two Kurios of the New. They are
equally Theos, as the apostle Paul testifies Those who claim otherwise are
replacing the truth of Scripture with the vain philosophies of men. These
deceptive teachings have for centuries been used by Satan to undermine the faith
of Christians. The New Testament contains many warnings to be on guard against
such false teachings. Today, false teachers within the churches of God are rejecting the truth of
Scripture and are promoting the "new understanding" that Jesus was never God and
that He never will be God. They claim that no one--spirit or flesh--can ever be
glorified as God. They are denying the Christ Who died for them, and Who has
been glorified with the glory of the Father (John.17:5), and they are denying
the very purpose for which He died--to share that glory with many brethren (Heb.
2:10-13). These false doctrines which deny the truth of Scripture are not new at all.
These same deceptive doctrines were infiltrating the churches of God in the days
of the apostle John. John wrote his Gospel to combat these false teachings and
to confirm the truth of God. John begins his Gospel by proclaiming the
preexistence of Jesus Christ as "the Word," Who was with God [Greek Theos]" and
"was God [Greek Theos]" from the beginning (John 1: 1-2). John uses the Greek
word Theos to name both God and the Word in order to show that the Word was
identical in nature to the God with Whom He had eternally existed. False teachers do not want to accept the truth that the Word was also God.
They are willing to acknowledge that Theos means God in the phrase "with God,"
but they say that it does not mean God in the phrase "was God." They claim that
when John wrote that the Word "was God," he meant only that the Word was
"divine." They define "divine" as a property or characteristic of God, such as
His thoughts and His spoken words. Their definition of the Word of God is identical to the concept of the Logos
of Greek philosophy and Gnostic Judaism as taught in the days of the apostles.
These false teachers are actually superimposing pagan philosophical concepts
upon the Scriptures! When they quote the first verse in John's Gospel, they
distort the truth of Scripture by misinterpreting the true meaning of Theos to
fit their false philosophical concepts. These are the very teachings that John
was writing to combat! The Greek text reveals the fallacy of their reasoning. It is contrary to the
rules of language to give the Greek word Theos two different meanings in the
same verse. If we are honest with the Scriptures, we will acknowledge that if
Theos is defined as "God" in the first phrase in John 1:1 it must also be
defined as "God" in the second phrase. John meant exactly what he wrote.
The Word was not merely the "speech" or the "thought" of God, but was equally
God--a separate and distinct divine Being. When John tells us that the Word
became flesh (verse 14), he wants us to understand that the Word was a divine
Person Who had lived eternally. John amplifies this truth in his first epistle by declaring, "That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, of the Word of Life; (for the life
was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and show unto you
that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was
manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us:
and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus
Christ" (1 John 1:1-3). In the book of Revelation, John shows that the eternally living Word Who
became Jesus Christ in the flesh has returned to His glorified state. John
describes the appearance of this powerful divine Being in detail (Rev.
19:13-16). Remember that this powerful Being Who will rule the nations
with a rod of iron is the same
divine Being Who is named Jehovah in Psalm 2:11. The Word of the New
Testament is the Jehovah of the Old Testament Who became Jesus Christ! Both Old and New Testaments proclaim the eternal preexistence of Jesus Christ
as one of the two Jehovahs. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures are
filled with testimonies of His eternal existence as God. The very structure of
the Hebrew and Greek texts gives us irrefutable evidence of His co-equality
with God. This truth is undeniable when we understand the rules
of language and the use of the Hebrew and Greek words.
The fact that God inspired Isaiah to pronounce His coming
judgment upon His people for this Babylonish worship indicates that it had
corrupted the entire nation. As in the days of Ezra, it is likely that many
priests and Levites were leaders in this grievous sin. If the Levitical
priesthood itself was corrupted by the worship of the false Chaldean Adon, or
"One," this apostasy would clearly explain the alterations made in the Hebrew
text of the Old Testament-- especially in those passages which refer to two
divine Beings! These passages provided a ready opportunity to Justify mingling
the worship of Adon, the universal God of Babylon, with the worship of Jehovah,
the national God of Israel.
In the book of Psalms, the
Massorites altered several such passages. These passages reveal the existence of
two divine Beings and show that both divine Beings were named Jehovah. In all
but one of these passages, the name Adonay was substituted for Jehovah in one or
more verses. Originally, all of these verses added to the evidence that there
were two Jehovah's and that these Jehovah's would someday establish a Father/Son
relationship. In spite of the alterations in these passages in the Psalms,
the truth of Scripture has been preserved. Evidence of the existence of two Jehovah's can be
found in Psalms 2, 16, 22, 89, 90, 110 and 118. As Psalm 110 contains the most
obvious reference to two Jehovah's, let us first examine this psalm.
Psalm
110 gives us undeniable Scriptural evidence that there were two divine Beings
Who were both known as Jehovah in Old Testament times. In the first verse of
Psalm 110, David was inspired to prophesy that a divine Being called Adon would
be invited to sit at the right hand of a divine Being called Jehovah. In the
original Hebrew text, the same divine Being Who is called Adon in Verse 1 is
called Jehovah in Verse 5. Psalm 110 is actually describing one Jehovah sitting
beside another Jehovah! The word Jehovah in Verse 5, however, was altered by the
Levitical Massorites to read Adonay. The Levites were hiding the truth that the
Adon of Verse 1 was a second Jehovah!
In the original
Hebrew text, Psalm 110 clearly reveals two Jehovah's sitting beside each other,
one speaking to the other and foretelling future events. This psalm contains an
explicit prophecy of a Jehovah/Adon who would become both the Messiah and the
High Priest of a new priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. Notice carefully
these prophetic verses in Psalm 110 Sections in bold are those passages which
have been quoted in the New Testament.
"And Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, How say
the scribes that Christ is the son of David? For David himself
said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD [Greek Kurios, Jehovah the Father] said to my
Lord [Greek Kurios, Jehovah the Son] Sit Thou [the Son] on My right band, till I
[the Father] make Thine enemies Thy footstool. David therefore
himself calleth Him Lord [Greek Kurios, or Jehovah]; and whence is He then his
Son? And the common people heard him gladly. And He said unto them in His
doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love
salutations in the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the
uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make
long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation [heavier judgment]" (Mark
12:35-40).
These scribes made a great show of outward
devotion to God. They pretended to know God, while all the time refusing to
believe what God had revealed in His Word. They rejected the truth that there
were two Jehovah's in the Old Testament, and that one of those Jehovah's would
become the Messiah before Whom they would some day stand in judgment! Because
they denied the reality of the righteous judgment of God through His Son, they
had no fear of God to restrain them from oppressing the poor and the helpless in
the land.
"And He said unto them, How say they that
Christ is David's son? And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord
[Greek Kurios, Jehovah the Father] said unto my [David's] Lord [Greek Kurios,
Jehovah the Son], Sit Thou [the Son] on My right hand, till I [the Father] make
Thine enemies Thy footstool. David therefore calleth Him Lord [Greek Kurios, or
Jehovah], how is He then his Son? Then in the audience of all the people He said
unto His disciples, Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes,
and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and
the chief rooms at feasts; which devour widows' houses, and for a show make long
prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation [heavier Judgment]" (Luke
20:41-47),
Jesus did not hesitate to condemn the
scribes for their hypocrisy. They, of all Jews of that time, should have
acknowledged the truth of Scripture and should have been walking in the fear of
God. They were well acquainted with the Scriptures because their days were spent
making copies of the sacred text. Yet the hardness of their hearts led them to
deny the wonderful truth of the Jehovah/Messiah of Psalm 110 Who had come to
earth in their day!
The fulfilment of this wonderful
Old Testament prophecy is fully documented in the New Testament for all who are
willing to believe. We find this Scriptural evidence not only in the Gospels,
but also in the testimony of the apostles Peter and Paul.
"This Jesus hath God [Greek Theos, the Father] raised up [resurrected],
whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God [Greek
Theos, the Father] exalted, and having received of the Father [Greek Pater,
referring to Theos] the promise of the Holy Ghost [the Spirit of Theos, the
Father], He [the resurrected Jesus] hath shed forth this [the Holy Spirit of the
Father], which ye now see and hear [the outward manifestation s of the Holy
Spirit]. For David is not ascended into the heavens: be he [David] saith
himself, The Lord [Greek Kurios, the Father] said unto my [David's Lord [Greek
Kurios, the Son], Sit Thou [the Son] on My right hand, until I [the Father] make
Thy foes Thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
that God [Greek Theos, the Father] hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord [Greek Kurios] and Christ [Greek Christos (Acts 2:32-36).
"God [Greek Theos, the Father], Who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son [Greek Huios], Whom
He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He [the Father] made the
worlds [thus Jesus is called the Arche or Beginner of the creation]; Who [the
Son] being the brightness of His [the Father's] glory, and the express image of
His [the Father's] person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,
when He [Jesus Christ] had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels [Greek
aggelos], as He [the Son] hath by inheritance obtained a
more excellent name than they.
For unto which of the
angels [Greek aggelos] said He [the Father] at any time, Thou art My Son Greek
Huios], this day have I begotten Thee [quoted from Psalm 2:7]? And again, I will
be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son [Greek Huios] [quoted from II
Samuel [7:14]? And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world,
He [the Father] saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him [quoted from
the Septuagint, Deuteronomy 32:431. And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His
angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire [quoted from the Septuagint,
Psalm 104:4]. But unto the Son [Greek Huios] He [the Father]
saith, Thy throne, O God [Greek Theos, the Son], is for ever and ever: a sceptre
of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou [the Son] hast loved
righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God [Greek Theos, the Father], even
Thy God [Greek Theos, the Father], hath anointed Thee [the Son] with the oil of
gladness above Thy fellows [quoted from Psalm 45:6-7]. And, Thou, Lord [Greek
Kurios, the Jehovah of the Old Testament Who became the Son], in the beginning
hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Thine
hands: they shall perish; but Thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth
a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed:
but Thou [the Son] art the same, and Thy years shall not fail [quoted from Psalm
102:25-27].
Paul's inspired testimony
makes it undeniably clear that Jesus Christ was never an angel. Paul quotes
Psalm 110 and specifically points out that no angel at any time was invited to
sit at the right hand of the Father. Paul also quotes Psalm 2 to show that no
angel at any time was begotten of the Father. Paul shows that it is totally
unscriptural to claim that Christ was ever an angel--or anything less than God.
The first occurrence of the name Jehovah in Psalm 2 is
found in Verse 2. This Jehovah is clearly identified in Verse 7 as the Father of
the Messiah. Here is what David was inspired to write of the Jehovah Who would
become the Father and of His future Son, the Messiah:
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The
kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against
the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah], and against His Anointed [quoted in Acts 4:25-26],
saying, Let us [the kings of the earth] break Their [Jehovah and His Anointed]
bands asunder, and cast away Their [Jehovah and His Anointed] cords from us. He
[Jehovah] that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord [Hebrew Adonay,
originally Jehovah] shall have them in derision. Then shall He speak unto them
in His wrath, and vex them in His sore displeasure. Yet have I
[Jehovah] set My King [the Anointed, or Messiah] upon My holy hill of Zion"
(Psa. 2:1-6).
In Verse 7 a second divine Being begins to
speak, prophesying that He will become the Son of Jehovah. When we read the
following verses, we find that this divine Being Who will become the Messiah,
the future Son, is also called Jehovah. Here is the undeniable Scriptural
evidence:
"I will declare the decree:
the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Father of the Messiah] hath said unto Me [the
Messiah], Thou art My Son [quoted in Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:5; 5-.5]; this day
have I begotten Thee. Ask of Me [the Father], and I shall give Thee [the Son]
the heathen for Thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy
possession. Thou [the Son] shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash
them in pieces like a potter's vessel [quoted by the resurrected Christ in
Revelation 2:26-27]. Be wise now therefore, 0 ye kings: be instructed, ye judges
of the earth. Serve the LORD [Hebrew Jehovah, the Son] with fear, and rejoice
with trembling, Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from
the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in Him [the Son]" (Ps. 2:7-12).
The decrees in Verse 9 of Psalm 2 are quoted
by the glorified Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation. Let us examine the
testimony of Christ concerning these decrees given by Jehovah, the Father of the
Messiah, in Psalm 2.
"But unto you I [the risen Christ] say, and unto the rest in Thyatira,
as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan,
as they speak; I [the risen Christ] will put upon you none other burden. But
that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and
keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be
broken to shivers [the decrees given in Psalm 2:9. even as I received of My Father" (Rev. 2:24-27).
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse; and He That sat
upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and
make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns;
and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself And He was clothed
with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word [Greek Logos] of
God. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed
in fine linen, white and clean.
The New Testament verifies that Jesus was a divine
Being--one of the two Jehovah's of the Old Testament--before He came to earth as
a fleshly human being. He emptied Himself of His glory and became flesh in order
that He might die, thus ending the Old Covenant and establishing the New
Covenant (Phil.2:6-7, Heb. 9:15-16, 10:5-9). After three days, He was
resurrected and restored to His full power and glory with the Father Eph.1:20-21, John (17:4-5). Jesus Christ is fully divine.
The apostle Paul testifies that in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily" (Col. 2:9). He was not resurrected with a glorified body that transcends
human flesh but is less than God. He is not a "new creature" in a mythical
category between angels and human beings. He is God. Paul leaves no room for
doubt!
When Paul quoted Psalm 2 in his epistle to the
Hebrews as evidence that Jesus is the glorified Son, he also quoted Psalm 45 to
show that the Son is God: "But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, 0 God, is
forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy Kingdom"
(Heb.1:8).
Jesus is now reigning at the right hand of
the Father, sharing the Father's throne until the time comes for the Father to
deliver the nations of this world into His hands, as decreed in Psalm 2. He is
coming soon as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, and He will reign as God
forever!
"And when they heard that, they lifted up their
voice to God [Greek Thios, the Father] with one accord, and said, Lord [Greek
Despotes, or Master, referring to the Father] Thou art God [these words are not
in the texts], Which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in
them is: Who by the mouth of Thy servant David has said [in Psalm 2:1-2],
Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord [Greek Kurios, the
Father], and against His Christ [Greek Christos,
the Son]. For of a truth against Thy Holy Child Jesus, Whom Thou hast
anointed [resurrected], both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and
the People of Israel, were gathered together..." (Acts 4..24-27).
This prayer by the early apostles confirms that they
understood the meaning of Psalm 2. They were fully aware that
Jesus was the Messiah of David's inspired prophecy! They knew that He had been
resurrected and had ascended to the Father's throne, and that He would return to
earth with power and glory to rule all nations, as the Father had decreed.
In these early days of the church, Paul was not yet an
apostle. Later in the book of Acts, we find the personal testimony of the
apostle Paul concerning the identity of the, Jehovah in Psalm 2 Who was
prophesied to become the Messiah. In proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, Paul quoted Psalm 2:7 and other Old Testament prophecies as evidence
that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah--originally one of the
two Jehovahs, but now the immortal Son of, Jehovah. Here is Paul's
testimony: