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| The Logic of the Logos |
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An answer to the question ‘Who is the God of the Old Testament?’ In an advertisement in the May 2009 The Journal, page 19, the answer to the question ‘Who is the God of the Old Testament?’ was that; “From all past eternity there were two God Persons who are God the Father and his Son Jesus.” This is the sincere, but mistaken, belief and teaching of Messrs. Roderick Meredith, Hank Jens and others. First of all, let’s established the fact that this two God teaching; was the teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong and the pre 1995 Worldwide Church of God. Apart from that, there is little in recorded history that would support a “two God” doctrine of the nature of God. Such a teaching must be rejected, if for no other reason, that it constitutes polytheism, a problem God Almighty had with his chosen nation Israel from the beginning (Ex 32). Over and over He had to remind them that, “I am the LORD, and there is no other.” “And (that) there is no other god besides me (not us), a righteous God and Savior; there is none beside me (that means there is only ONE God). If this would be Jesus speaking (which it is not) then there would be another God beside him! Aside from that, let’s apply some logic to this whole issue. If indeed it would have been Jesus who created the heavens and the earth and did all the speaking in Old Testament time, there would be no need for another God, the Father (God would, and probably is asking: “If then I am a Father, where is my honor?” Malachi 1:6). But, the universe and the world did not have their beginning with the Son but with the Father. Much of the Old Testament are prophesies that look forward to the most important event in human history; the birth of the Son of God – Jesus. Why make a big deal about the birth of Jesus, when he already existed throughout Old Testament time? Why was he hidden away throughout Old Testament time? Why is there no “Jesus”, no “Son of God”, no “God the Father” in Old Testament time writings? For the simple reason that Jesus, the Son of God was not yet born, God was not yet a father, and therefore there was not yet a God Family. We need to ask here; where does the idea of existence before birth come from? I am obviously familiar with the individual bible verses that are used to support this idea. But, bible verses are subject to (human) interpretation, and every verse can and is being interpreted in more than one way, depending on the paradigm one is coming from. The fact of the matter is that the idea of existence before birth comes to us from the Roman Catholic Trinitarian teaching which claims that the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus, existed from all eternity. This false premise has its roots in the mythological beliefs of the immortality of the soul and in incarnation and re-incarnation. Here are a few questions we need to ask: If Jesus, as the Son of God, already existed in Old Testament time, what happened 2000 years ago when he was born as the Son of God? Was he born only as the son of man? Is not birth, at least according to the natural, created order, always a beginning, just as death is always an end? What about the fact that God is the father of Jesus and Mary is the mother of Jesus; must not therefore God be the legal husband of Mary, and Mary the legal wife of God? How can anyone continue to teach that it was Jesus who married Israel when Israel/Mary was the wife of his father? Let it be known, that from all eternity and throughout Old Testament time, there was only ONE God Being who created and spoke the universe into existence through and by the power of His living Word. Not through Jesus, not through a second person in a trinity or godhead, not through a second God, or a spokesman! Not until the WORD of God became the SON of God, 2000 years ago, was the ONE God Family established, now consisting of God the Father, the firstborn Son of God – Jesus, and many begotten children who will be born again by a resurrection, just as our example, our elder brother was. That leaves us with the scriptures that are used to support a “two God” model of God in Old Testament time. Unfortunately, as long as someone’s foundational, unalterable paradigm is that Jesus existed before he was born (an oxymoron); these scriptures will support ones (false) understanding of TWO Gods. Not until someone, as a minimum, can consider the possibility that Jesus truly and literally became the Son of God 2000 years ago, can and will these same scriptures support a ONE God understanding of God in Old Testament time. What makes a change, from a “TWO God” to a “ONE God” understanding of God, from the beginning and throughout Old Testament time, so difficult, are not the scriptures, but tradition, organizational considerations, and pride. Fortunately, “with God all things are possible.” For answers to “two God” (so called) prove texts, please study other articles on this website or contact me and let us reason together.
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