So Who Is Jesus Anyway?

In my last post I mentioned that the greatest differences between the three monotheistic religions lies in the nature and person of Jesus of Nazareth.  If we intend to find the true church of Jesus then we need to know a little more about the truth of Jesus.  Virtually all Christians will tell you He is the Son of God, our Saviour who died for our sins that we might be accepted to live forever in God’s Kingdom.  Muslims will say that He was a great prophet in a similar fashion to Abraham, Moses, and Muhammad.  Most traditional Jews, not all but most, will tell you He was a fake, a liar and not the promised Messiah.  So who is right and how can we be sure?

It would surprise most people, from any faith, to be told that if we believe in what the Bible tells us then they are all wrong.  Yes, Jesus was a great prophet and yes He was and is our Saviour but Jesus was not just a man nor was He a part of a Trinity of a Godhood expressed in three ways.  If we actually examine the sacred texts – again I'm referring here to what we would term the Old Testament – you will see clearly that God refers to Himself as two distinct personages, not one.  From the very earliest passages of Genesis God refers to Himself in the plural.  ‘Let us make man in our image’ – God was certainly not speaking to the angels when He uttered that phrase as later descriptions of angelic beings prove we are nothing like their image.

The Hebrew word that is translated into English as God is in fact ‘elohim’, a plural word clearly depicting more than one being.  Translators, at other times, will use the exact same word when speaking of ‘false gods’.  Furthermore one of the most quoted passages used to prove a single God comes from Deuteronomy – “I am the Lord thy God and thou shall have no other gods before me.”  Yet if you read that passage in Hebrew, translated into English as it should have been it actually reads “We are the Lord thy Gods and thou shall have no false gods before us.”  It is clearly a completely different connotation to the one that has been accepted for centuries.

 

Furthermore in other parts of the Bible the two Gods are spoken of by different names.  Jehovah, one of the more commonly used names, is in Hebrew a designation of a family name rather than a personal name, while names such as Adonai and Emmanuel are specific and personal names.  Yes, it is true that God has many names but a great many of them when examined in the original language of the text refer obviously to two distinct individuals.  

I must stress here that these are not simply my personal beliefs; even a cursory examination of a bilingual Bible or double checking through Strong’s Concordance of the Bible will show these claims to be factual.  In fact I would personally advice everyone who is interested in learning the truth to not only obtain a bi-lingual copy of the Bible so you can read the words for yourself.  I would also suggest examining some of the books written by genuine scholars whose reputation is without doubt and a Strong's Concordance is a must for all genuine seekers of the truth.

Yet it is when we come to the New Testament and read the words of Jesus Himself that the evidence becomes overwhelming.  So overwhelming in fact, that we are left with only two choices – either Jesus was everything He said He was or He was a complete madman.  The statements that He made as recorded in not only the four accepted Gospels of the Bible but also in other Coptic texts and Gnostic Gospels are utterly straight-forward and allow for no other possible interpretation.

Some of His more obvious statements, verses well known and often recited, leave us in no doubt as to His meaning.  For example He said “I am the bread that came down from Heaven” – who resides in Heaven?  God.  He also said “that no man has seen or spoken to God face to face except He who came from Heaven” – if no man had ever spoken to God face to face then who was Moses talking to?  And perhaps Jesus' most famous statement, which was one that was well understood by the people of the day, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was I Am.”  With this statement Jesus not only declared His pre-existence prior to His earthly incarnation but used the very name He had once given to Moses.

So if Jesus was the Word, the Logos who brought all creation into being and was, is and always will be God then who is the other God?  Again Jesus’ own words tell us that the God He calls The Father was, at that time, the previously unknown God.  A God the people had not had any contact with – why else would Jesus say “I have come to reveal the Father to you”?  Furthermore if the Holy Spirit were also a God why did Jesus not reveal that fact to his followers also?  Simply because the Holy Spirit is the essence, the power possessed by these two Beings who together are God.

Jesus also said quite clearly that “I and the Father are one” while at the same time demonstrating their individuality.  How can that be reconciled?  Again God gives us the perfect illustration of His meaning when He says of a man and wife that they shall cleave together and become one flesh.  No matter how happy and united a married couple may be they still remain distinct individuals – yet they are individuals in complete accord with each other.  And that is the answer to the riddle of who is Jesus.  He is God in complete and total accord, in a divine sense that can never be achieved in this earthly world, with God the Father.  They are two beings yet they are of one purpose.

If you examine the earliest texts, both official and those deemed as unsuitable by the Catholic Church, you see clearly that the very earliest churches understood and believed in two Gods.  It is true that this is a radical and controversial view of God yet the evidence is there for those who seek it.  

It is difficult for us in our fallen state to truly understand and appreciate the nature of God but with an open heart and an open mind willing to look at the evidence you can gain a greater understanding not only of Him but of His purpose for all mankind.  It is also worth pointing out that this belief has existed for as long as written or symbolic evidence of mankind has existed.  It was very often hidden in iconography and symbolism and usually persecuted if spoken of openly in the past.  But it has existed.

Read the Gospels again and let Jesus Himself tell you exactly who He is, was and will always be.

In God's Truth,

Tracey