Jesus Christ is the LORD, mighty to Save!

Jesus is Jehovah God

A Voice Crying

Isaiah prophesied that God Himself would visit His people:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken...O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'" (Isaiah 40:3-9).

This great prophecy of God's coming to His people was fulfilled in Christ's first advent. So says the New Testament: "In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!' For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight."'" (Matthew 3:1-3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4).

Although this author's 'Isaiah-count' is off, he notes trenchantly that the very word 'gospel,' or 'good news,' comes from Isaiah 40:9, ευαγγελιζομενος (LXX): "The fact that the very word 'Gospel' was taken by the earliest Christians from Deutero-Isaiah (Isa. 40:9) is an indication of the key importance of these chapters for them, as is the fact that all four evangelists highlight the way the beginning of the Gospel story, the ministry of John the Baptist, fulfilled the beginning of Deutero-Isaiah's prophecy of the new Exodus (Isa. 40:3-4)." (Richard Bauckham, God Crucified, Kindle location 488).

John explained his mission in terms of Isaiah 40: "Then they said to him, 'Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?' He said: 'I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD," as the prophet Isaiah said.'" (John 1:22-23).

The herald announces, 'Behold your God!' This is the good news. There's no room in Isaiah's prophecy for any two thousand year gap between the 'voice crying' and the One whose advent he's announcing. So either this is the blown prophecy of all time: either John the Baptist and Jesus goofed big-time in identifying John with Isaiah's 'voice crying in the wilderness'. . .or else Jesus Christ is Jehovah God, come to save His people!

  John the Baptist

Temple Visitor

Malachi prophesied that the Lord Himself would visit His temple:

"'Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,' Says the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 3:1).

This prophecy has to be filed in the 'fulfilled prophecy' slot, because it's already happened. So Mark tells us: "As it is written in the Prophets: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'" (Mark 1:2). Jesus identified John the Baptist as the fore-runner of Malachi 3:1: "For this is he of whom it is written: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'" (Matthew 11:10). So did John the Baptist prepare the way in vain, for One who wasn't coming? No, Jesus is "the Lord, whom you seek", who suddenly came to His temple!

The Temple at Jerusalem was sacred to none but the living God, Jehovah. And Jesus 'came suddenly' to "His temple", carried as a baby, as a twelve-year old boy, and ultimately to cleanse and purify: "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, 'It is written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer," but you have made it a "den of thieves."' Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them." (Matthew 21:12-14).

Stone of Stumbling

Isaiah prophesied a "stone of stumbling":

"The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear, And let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken." (Isaiah 8:13-15).

Isaiah's "stone of stumbling" is "the LORD of hosts". It's interesting to see the use the New Testament authors make of this "stone of stumbling":

"Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,' and 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed." (1 Peter 2:7-8);

"...For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: 'Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.'" (Romans 9:32-33).

To the New Testament authors, Isaiah's "stone of stumbling" is Jesus Christ. The Bible testifies: Jesus Christ is the LORD of Hosts!

The Rock of Israel

Jesus is the Rock of Israel:

"Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).

Who is the Rock of Israel? Jehovah God!:

"He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He." (Deuteronomy 32:4);

"But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation...Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you." (Deuteronomy 32:15-18);

"How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had surrendered them? For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges." (Deuteronomy 32:30-31);

"The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation!" (2 Samuel 22:47; Psalm 18:46);

"The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me: 'He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.'" (2 Samuel 23:3);

"To You I will cry, O LORD my Rock: do not be silent to me, lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit." (Psalm 28:1);

"Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold..." (Isaiah 17:10);

"Then they remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer." (Psalm 78:35).

Are there lots of rocks? To listen to the Jehovah's Witnesses, you'd think this Rock part of a huge rock collection. But the Bible counts One:

"No one is holy like the LORD, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2);

"'For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?'" (2 Samuel 22:32);

"For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?" (Psalm 18:31);

"He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved." (Psalm 62:2).

  Rock of Ages

Holy, holy, holy

Isaiah saw "the LORD of hosts" in the temple:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!' And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: 'Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.'" (Isaiah 6:1-5).

Whom did he see? John relates that it was Christ's glory he saw: God the Son. After quoting Isaiah 6:10, delivered to Isaiah at that same occasion, he says,

"These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue..." (John 12:41-42).

Here are several commentators' thoughts on Isaiah's vision: "In this figurative vision, the temple is thrown open to view, even to the most holy place. The prophet, standing outside the temple, sees the Divine Presence seated on the mercy-seat, raised over the ark of the covenant, between the cherubim and seraphim, and the Divine glory filled the whole temple. See God upon his throne. This vision is explained, John 12:41, that Isaiah now saw Christ's glory, and spake of Him, which is a full proof that our Saviour is God. In Christ Jesus, God is seated on a throne of grace; and through him the way into the holiest is laid open. See God's temple, his church on earth, filled with his glory. His train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole world, for it is all God's temple. And yet he dwells in every contrite heart. See the blessed attendants by whom his government is served. Above the throne stood the holy angels, called seraphim, which means 'burners;' they burn in love to God, and zeal for his glory against sin. The seraphim showing their faces veiled, declares that they are ready to yield obedience to all God's commands, though they do not understand the secret reasons of his counsels, government, or promises. All vain-glory, ambition, ignorance, and pride, would be done away by one view of Christ in his glory." (Matthew Henry Commentary).

"The apostle writes: 'These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.' Therefore, He whom the prophet saw in his vision was our Lord Jesus Christ, throned in His rightful glory ere He came to effect redemption. From that majesty He stooped to humiliation and suffering and to the sorrows of the Cross.

"Who shall fathom that descending
   From His rainbow-circled throne,
Down to earth's most base profaning,
   Dying, desolate, alone--
From the Holy, holy, holy,
   We adore Thee, O Most High,
Down to earth's blaspheming voices,
   And the shout of 'Crucify'?" (H. C. Hewlett, The Companion of the Way, p. 87).

The Aramaic Targum of Isaiah 6 places the 'Memra' or Word of God on the scene, bridging John's interpretation: "Finally, in ver. 8, the prophet hears the voice of the Memra of Jehovah speaking the words of vv. 9, 10. It is intensely interesting to notice that in St. John xii. 40, these words are prophetically applied in connection with Christ. Thus St. John applies to the Logos what the Targum understands of the Memra of Jehovah." (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Appendix, Kindle location 26078).

  Temple Vision

Captivity Captive

Psalm 68 sings a song of triumph:

"Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered; let those also who hate Him flee before Him...The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place. You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, even from the rebellious, that the LORD God might dwell there." (Psalm 68:1-18).

So to the Psalmist, the One who ascended on High is the LORD God. It's obvious to Paul who this refers to: Jesus Christ!:

"Therefore He says: 'When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.' (Now this, 'He ascended' -- what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)" (Ephesians 4:8-9).

Jesus is a captor who liberates:

To do battle with our enemies, the Lord descended and left his throne; but now the fight is finished, he returns to his glory; high above all things is he now exalted. “Thou hast led captivity captive.” A multitude of the sons of men are the willing captives of Messiah’s power. As great conquerors of old led whole nations into captivity, so Jesus leads forth from the territory of his foe a vast company as the trophies of his mighty grace. From the gracious character of his reign it comes to pass that to be led into captivity by him is for our captivity to cease, or to be itself led captive; a glorious result indeed. The Lord Jesus destroys his foes with their own weapons; he puts death to death, entombs the grave, and leads captivity captive."
(Spurgeon, Charles. The Treasury of David (Kindle Locations 34133-34138). GLH Publishing).

Some interpreters offer a more 'cosmic' setting for the events of the Psalm, but if we may be allowed to jump to a foreign language, the lower places need not be infernal, but simply our familiar earth: "The places of the sky are called loca supera ‘upper places,’ and these belong to the gods; the places of the earth are loca infera ‘lower places,’ and these belong to mankind." (Terentius Varro, Marcus. On the Latin Language, Book V, Chapter 16, Delphi Complete Works of Varro (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 80) (Kindle Locations 6120-6121).) None of these interpretive difficulties touch the main point. If we keep our eyes on the prize and look to see who is leading the procession, then this correspondence is an evident proof of the deity of Jesus Christ. Paul understood what he was saying.

House of David

"In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them." (Zechariah 12:8).

Answered prayers

Jesus Christ "humbled himself" and made himself of no reputation:

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8).

He took on our nature in all its humility, and "learned obedience": a new experience, according to the author of Hebrews: "...who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered." (Hebrews 5:7-8). This is why, although it's not His native estate to come before the Father as a humble petitioner, in His humility, having taken on our estate, He did so.

Now in His glory He hears our prayers.  Paul called upon the Lord...and Jesus picked up on the line!: "Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:8-9).  When the Lord to whom he prayed answered him, "My strength is made perfect in weakness", Paul understood "my strength" to be "the power of Christ"!

Stephen also prayed to the Lord: "And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:59-60). Truly it's as the Bible teaches, "O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come." (Psalm 65:2).

With all His saints

The LORD will come with all the saints:

"Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You." (Zechariah 14:5).

More precisely:

Giver of Life

Jehovah God is the fountain of life:

"For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9).

To get down to detail, the source of life is Jehovah the Son:

"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:3-5);

"For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will." (John 5:21);

"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" (John 8:12).

Life is the gift of God:

"'Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.'" (Deuteronomy 32:39);

"Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death." (Psalm 68:20).

And life is in Jesus' hand:

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?'...Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth!' And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, 'Loose him, and let him go.'" (John 11:25-44).

Every Knee Shall Bow

The LORD promised that every knee would bow:

"Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath." (Isaiah 45:22-23).

Paul fleshed this prophecy out with further detail:

"For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: 'As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:9-12).

It's before the judgment seat of Christ that every knee shall bow: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Corinthians 5:10).

One Judge

Most of the quotes on this page are from the New King James Version, and are reliably documented in the works of the early church authors. Some are absent from those modern translations which rely upon a very small sample of manuscripts. In a few cases, though, the modern translations offer proofs of the deity of Jesus Christ absent from the traditional text:

"There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. [...] Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near...See, the Judge is standing at the doors!" (James 4:12-5:9).

James did not say there are many judges,—Judge Wapner, Judge Judy, Judge Rehnquist, God,—one of whom is coming to judge the world, although he could have said this had it been on his mind. Rather he said that there is one judge...and He is at the door!

The New World Translation helpfully supplies this cross reference for James 4:12: "For Jehovah is our Judge, Jehovah is our Statute-giver, Jehovah is our King; he himself will save us." (Isaiah 33:22 NWT). Truly, God is Judge over all the earth:

"Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?'" (Genesis 18:25);

"Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge. Selah." (Psalm 50:6);

"But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another." (Psalm 75:7);

"Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity." (Psalm 98:8-9).

Jesus' self-conception as the judge of all the world sits uncomfortably with the more modest ideas of some of His self-professed followers:

"The strange fact is that this pure teacher of righteousness appealed to by modern liberalism, this classical exponent of the non-doctrinal religion which is supposed to underlie all the historical religions as the irreducible truth remaining after the doctrinal accretions have been removed — the strange fact is that this supreme revealer of eternal truth supposed that He was to be the chief actor in a world catastrophe and was to sit in judgment upon the whole earth." (J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism, p. 26).

  Judge of All the Earth

  I Am That I Am

He is Lord

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11). It cannot be thought coincidental that the title the early church gave to Jesus: 'the Lord' - is the same way they addressed the living God: "Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is: "Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD ['kyrios'] is one."'" (Mark 12:29, Deuteronomy 6:4).

The Jehovah's Witnesses point out that many are addressed as 'Lord' in the New Testament who are unarguably not God, such as Pilate: "On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, 'Sir ['kyrios'], we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, "After three days I will rise."'" (Matthew 27:62-63), and a person Mary Magdalene supposed to be a gardener: "...She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir ['kyrios'], if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.'" (John 20:15). Unlike 'theos', non-gods like gardeners and governors are addressed as 'kyrios' in scripture. The same is true of the English word 'Lord': there's a whole chamber-full of them over in England, called 'the House of Lords'.

It should be noted, though, that this common habit of promiscuously addressing all and sundry as 'Lord' had already met resistance from the Zealots, and would soon meet fierce resistance from the Christian martyrs, who chose death rather than to say 'Caesar is Lord'. There is an undeniable gravity and momentum to addressing the living God as 'Lord' which tends toward jealousy: "...but as to all those that fled into Egypt, and to the Egyptian Thebes, it was not long ere they were caught also, and brought back, -- whose courage, or whether we ought to call it madness, or hardiness in their opinions, everybody was amazed at; for when all sorts of torments and vexations of their bodies that could be devised were made use of to them, they could not get any one of them to comply so far as to confess, or seem to confess, that Caesar was their lord; but they preserved their own opinion, in spite of all the distress they were brought to, as if they received these torments and the fire itself with bodies insensible of pain, and with a soul that in a manner rejoiced under them. But what was most of all astonishing to the beholders, was the courage of the children; for not one of these children was so far overcome by these torments, as to name Caesar for their lord." (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book VII, Chapter X.1).

Neither would the Christians: "Herod, the police captain, and his father, Nicetes, came out to meet him [Polycarp]. After transferring him to their carriage and sitting down at his side, they tried to persuade him, saying, 'Why, what harm is there in saying, "Caesar is Lord," and offering incense' (and other words to this effect) 'and thereby saving yourself?' Now at first he gave them no answer. But when they persisted, he said, 'I am not about to do what you are suggesting to me.'" (The Martyrdom of Polycarp, 8.2). Yet Christians confess that Jesus is Lord: "Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3) -- because He truly is!

Call upon the Name

The prophet Joel said that, in the days to come, whoever would call upon the name of the LORD would be saved:

"And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls." (Joel 2:32).

Peter quotes Joel, with a new spin: "'And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.'" (Acts 2:21). A new name has been revealed: "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 1:2-3). The apostles found there's power in that name: "Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.'" (Acts 3:6).

Not only power, there's salvation in that name: "For the Scripture says, 'Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.' How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:11-14, Isaiah 28:16). It is the gospel of Jesus Christ which gives us the saving name. As the word of God says, "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10).

Doxology

The living God in the Old Testament is hymned this way:

"Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!" (1 Chronicles 16:36).

"Therefore David blessed the LORD before all the assembly; and David said: 'Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, We thank You and praise Your glorious name.'" (1 Chronicles 29:11-13).

This same phraseology is sung to Jesus Christ by the New Testament saints:

"And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!" (2 Timothy 4:18)

"You therefore, beloved...grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." (2 Peter 3:17-18).

"...and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:5-6).

Since this stereotyped formula of praise is not applied to earthly rulers but to God alone, seeing Jesus praised in that manner is a weighty testimony to His eternal Deity.

God with Us

The Old Testament prophets foretold that God would dwell amongst His people:

"And it will be said in that day: 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'" (Isaiah 25:9).

"Thus says the LORD: 'The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; they shall walk behind you, they shall come over in chains; and they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, "Surely God is in you, and there is no other; there is no other God.'"" (Isaiah 45:14).

"'Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,' says the LORD. 'Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.'" (Zechariah 2:10-11).

The Bible teaches two advents, that Christ will come again; the One who is to return is the "same Jesus" as He who ascended: "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'" (Acts 1:10-11). Isaiah prophesied a Savior named 'God-With-Us:' " Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. . ." (KJV, Isaiah 7:14); "And the stretching out of its wings hath been the fulness of the breadth of thy land, O Emmanu-El! . .Take counsel, and it is broken, speak a word, and it doth not stand, Because of Emmanu-El!’" (YLT, Isaiah 8:8-10). This Savior came to redeem His people:

"'And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.' So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'" (Matthew 1:21-23).

The inspired New Testament author reveals the true Immanuel!

Lawgiver

"For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King; He will save us..." (Isaiah 33:22).

Jehovah God gave laws to Israel: "And he said: 'The LORD came from Sinai, and dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand came a fiery law for them.'" (Deuteronomy 33:2);

"There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" (James 4:12).

Not many lawgivers, one lawgiver, who is, "Amongst all the highest powers that attach to God, there is one excelled by none, the legislative. For He Himself is the lawgiver and the fountain of laws, and on Him depend all particular lawgivers." (Philo Judaeus, The Sacrifices of Abel and Cain, Chapter XXXVIII, Loeb edition p. 189).

Jesus is the Lawgiver: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (John 13:34).

Great Shepherd

Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd of the Sheep:

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11).

"For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (1 Peter 2:25);

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Isaiah had promised that Jehovah God would come and shepherd His people: "Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young." (Isaiah 40:10-11).

Christians can say with David, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." (Psalm 23:1-2). He is our Shepherd: "Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture." (Psalm 100:3).

"But He made His own people go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock, and He led them on safely, so that they did not fear..." (Psalm 78:52-53).

"Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead Joseph like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth!" (Psalm 80:1)

"For thus says the Lord GOD: 'Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord GOD. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.'" (Ezekiel 34:11-16).

  The Good Shepherd

You Only

Sin is transgression against God: "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - That You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge." (Psalm 51:4).

In this case, against God the Son: "But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." (1 Corinthians 8:12).

Lawful worship or idolatry?

Ultimately every creature, even the Jehovah's Witnesses, willing or unwilling, will worship the Lamb:

"And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: 'Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!' Then the four living creatures said, 'Amen!' And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever." (Revelation 5:13-14).

But if Jesus is not God, such worship is unlawful. Only One may lawfully be worshipped:

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me." (Exodus 20:2-3);

"...for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:13).

"If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or our friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people." (Deuteronomy 13:6-9).

A Catch-22...or is Jesus God?

His disciples worshipped Him, without rebuke: "When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted." (Matthew 28:17). Wise men worshipped then...and still do!: "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'" (Matthew 2:1-2).

Builder

"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus...For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God." (Hebrews 3:1-4).

Jeremiah tells us that the true God is the Creator: "Thus you shall say to them: 'The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.' He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion." (Jeremiah 10:11-12).

"[T]his One" who built all things, the Word of God, came to visit His people:

"Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." (Psalm 100:3);

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him." (John 1:10).

  The First Page of the Bible.

I AM THAT I AM

God revealed His name to Moses: "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, "I AM has sent me to you."'" (Exodus 3:14).

Jesus told His hearers, "Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.'" (John 8:58). And His hearers got the message, too; they picked up stones to throw at Him for claiming to be God. This is one of several uses of the Old Testament divine name 'I am' by Jesus, but it seems to bug the Jehovah's Witnesses more than the others, perhaps because the tenses belong to God: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:8). God is before Abraham was.

"The declaration 'I AM THAT I AM' was an unfolding of the meaning of the name Jehovah. The form of the word Jehovah appears deliberately to intermingle future and past tenses, i.e. He will be, He was, and so He is, and possibly even the sense that He causes to be, or brings to pass.

"The name speaks of the unchangeable One, with whom essentially there is no past nor future, but rather an eternal present. That which He is, He ever has been. . .To the Jews who heard Him the claim was unmistakable. For them there could be no middle course. Either they must own His rightful use of the title, 'I AM,' and worship Him, or they must account Him a blasphemer worthy of death. In their folly they rejected Him, but it was He who had spoken to Moses from the bush who now spoke to them in lowly manhood."
(H. C. Hewlett, The Companion of the Way, pp. 52-54)

Moses' Veil

"But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

"But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded." (Exodus 34:34).

When Moses turned toward the LORD (YHWH), the veil is taken away. Paul says when one turns to the Lord (Jesus), the veil is taken away.

Wine Press

"Who is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength? -'I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.' Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes." (Isaiah 63:1-3).

Who is this? Jesus: "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (Revelation 19:10-16).

Lord Willing

"But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power." (1 Corinthians 4:19).

"Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'" (James 4:15).

Here and in 1 Corinthians 4:19, the Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation inserts the Divine Name 'Jehovah', thinking that when people say, 'Lord willing and if the creek don't rise,' they mean the living God: "But I will come to YOU shortly, if Jehovah wills..." (1 Corinthians 4:19 NWT). But upon what 'Lord's' will was Paul waiting? The Lord Jesus Christ:

"Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.'" (Acts 18:9-10).

"But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.'" (Acts 23:11).

Another instance where the New World translators seem willing to give away the store is 1 Peter 3:15 as compared with Isaiah 8:12:

"However, the object of their fear do not you fear, neither become agitated. But sanctify the Christ as Lord in your hearts, always ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you. . . " (1 Peter 3:14-15, New World Translation).

Incredibly, the editors themselves draw attention to the similarity of this passage with Isaiah 8:12, giving this as a cross-reference for verse 14b:

". . .and the object of their fear you men must not fear, nor must you tremble at it. Jehovah of armies — he is the One whom you should treat as holy, and he should be the object of your fear, and he should be the One causing you to tremble.'" (Isaiah 8:12-13 New World Translation).

There certainly is a very notable resemblance here, especially in comparing Peter's Greek with the Greek of the Septuagint. So much so that it's difficult to avoid the conclusion that the party 'sanctified' is the same: κυριον αυτον αγιασατε (LXX Isaiah 8:13), versus κυριον δε τον χριστον αγιασατε (1 Peter 3:15). Although the modern versions generally suit the Jehovah's Witnesses purposes better than does the majority text, here is a case where it's difficult to avoid the impression that Peter, who has already quoted Isaiah 8:12, is explicitly and intentionally identifying Jesus as the Lord, Jehovah.

Secret Things

"For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing,whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

"For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God." (1 Corinthians 4:4-5).

The New World Translation delivers a split verdict here: rendering the first 'Lord' as 'Jehovah,' but leaving the second one alone. But surely Paul is thinking of the same 'Lord' in both places!

Boasting Excluded

The New Testament authors often quote Old Testament passages speaking of "the LORD", i.e., Jehovah God, and apply the passage to "the Lord", i.e., Christ. It was precisely in hopes of sweeping away these insistent proofs of Christ's Deity that the New World Translation 'restored' the word 'Jehovah' into the New Testament, where it is found in none of the Greek manuscripts of any age. Here's an example of how it works:

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'" (1 Corinthians 1:27-31).

When Paul says, "it is written", he's quoting the Old Testament.  And where is it written in the Old Testament, to glory in the Lord, not in other things?: "Thus says the LORD: 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,' says the LORD." (Jeremiah 9:24).

Praising the Lord is the constant preoccupation of psalmists and prophets:

"Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD!" (1 Chronicles 16:10, Psalm 105:3).

"And you shall swear, 'The LORD lives,' In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory." (Jeremiah 4:2).

"I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad." (Psalm 34:1-2).

The New World Translators had better do something, quick, or else people are going to start thinking Jesus Christ is the LORD!  Not to worry; here's how they rewrite 1 Corinthians 1:31: "...that it may be just as it is written: 'He that boasts, let him boast in Jehovah'". (NWT).

They do the same thing elsewhere when Paul quotes the same scripture:

"But he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'" (2 Corinthians 10:17).

"But he that boasts, let him boast in Jehovah." (2 Corinthians 10:17 NWT).

But is it so easy to erase the fact that Paul, whose stated understanding of the Old Testament is that one should boast only in Jehovah God, is actually talking about the Lord Jesus Christ after all?

He had only one boast, as even the perjured NWT is obliged finally to admit:

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. " (Galatians 6:14).

"Never may it occur that I should boast, except in the torture stake of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been impaled to me and I to the world." (Galatians 6:14, NWT).

So Paul, who quotes scripture to the effect that 'But he that boasts, let him boast in Jehovah' (NWT), turns out after all to have only one boast: the cross of Jesus Christ (a.k.a. Jehovah God)!

King of Israel

Jehovah God is the King of Israel: "For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth." (Psalms 74:12).

"You are my King, O God; Command victories for Jacob." (Psalm 44:4).

"The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall see disaster no more." (Zephaniah 3:15).

"For the LORD is our defense; and the Holy One of Israel is our king." (Psalm 89:18).

"'Present your case,' says the LORD. 'Bring forth your strong reasons,' says the King of Jacob." (Isaiah 41:21)

"I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." (Isaiah 43:15).

"They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!'" (Revelation 15:3).

Jesus is the King of Israel: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9, Luke 19:35).

"Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'" (Matthew 2:1-3).

"Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS." (John 19:19).

His is not moving in reverse, so that God's governance of His people becomes ever more indirect. To the contrary, prophets testify to the coming of the king Himself: "Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off." (Isaiah 33:17).

Fount of Living Waters

Jehovah God is the fount of living waters:

"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns — broken cisterns that can hold no water." (Jeremiah 2:13);

"O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. 'Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.'" (Jeremiah 17:13).

Jesus is the fount of living waters: "Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink," you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'...Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.'" (John 4:10-14).

He who searches the Heart

"I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works." (Revelation 2:23).

And who is this, that searches the minds and hearts?:

"I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." (Jeremiah 17:10).

Till Death Do Us Part

In the Old Testament, the Israel of God is a married woman:

"For your Maker is your husband,
The LORD of hosts is His name;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel;
He is called the God of the whole earth." (Isaiah 54:5).

“'Return, O backsliding children,' says the LORD; 'for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.'” (Jeremiah 3:14).

“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD.” (Hosea 2:19-20).

"And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So shall your God rejoice over you." (Isaiah 62:5).

In the New Testament, those who are in Christ are the "Israel of God": "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God." (Galatians 6:15-16). Her marital status has not changed:

"And Jesus said to them, 'Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?" (Mark 2:19).

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:31-32).

"For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. " (2 Corinthians 11:2).

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7).

What can we conclude?:

"It has already been suggested that something of this implication is embedded in the employment of the designation ‘Bridegroom’ (Mk 2:19,20) of our Lord. For there is certainly involved in it not merely the representation, afterwards copiously developed in the New Testament, of our Lord as the Bridegroom of the people of God, by virtue of which His Church is His bride (Mt 22:2, 25:1, Jn 3:29, Rom 7:4, 2 Cor 11:2, Eph 5:29, Rev 19:7, 21:2,9), but also a reminiscence of those Old Testament passages, of which Hos 2:19 may be taken as the type (cf. Ex 20:5, Jer 2:20, Ezek 16:38,60,63), in which Jehovah’s relation to His people is set forth under the figure of that of a loving husband to his wife. In other words, the use of ‘the Bridegroom’ as a designation of our Lord assimilates His relation to the people of God to that which in the Old Testament is exclusively, even jealously, occupied by Jehovah Himself, and raises the question whether Jesus is not thereby, in some sense, at any rate, identified with Jehovah."
(Warfield, B.B. The Lord of Glory: The Designations of Our Lord in the New Testament (Kindle Locations 389-395). Titus Books.)

 A Jealous God

Angel of the LORD

The Old Testament portrays a series of theophanies that feature the Angel of the LORD...who also turns out to be the LORD. For an example, consider Exodus 3:14:

"And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." (Exodus 3:2-6).

Lest anyone think one appeared, another spoke, the Bible says, "With the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush." (Deuteronomy 33:16).

Who is the angel of the LORD who is Himself the LORD? 'Angel' means 'messenger,' and Jesus Christ is called a messenger: "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus..." (Hebrews 3:1). While Jesus says the Jews have never seen the Father: "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form." (John 5:37), He Himself is called the image of the invisible God: "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation." (Colossians 1:15). Hellenic Jews like Philo Judaeus already identified the theophanic angel with the Word.

In light of these facts, some early church writers as well as later theologians like John Calvin believe the 'angel of the LORD' theophanies were pre-incarnate appearances of Christ: "Looking back on the Old Testament in the light of the New, we find that the theophanies of the ancient Scriptures were all Christophanies, i.e., it was always in the Son that God revealed Himself to men...The One who appeared in Old Testament days spoke and acted as being personally God, even to the acceptance of worship; nevertheless He appeared in relation to another who was called God. This is illustrated in the use of the title 'Angel of the Lord.' These things find their harmony in Christ, the only begotten Son, Himself the Word of God, the brightness of God's glory, and the express image of His person." (H. C. Hewlett, The Companion of the Way, p. 11).

Given that the Bible does not make this identification explicit, it is not surprising some discredit it. What is surprising, though, is when those who share this identification,--namely, the Jehovah's Witnesses,--nevertheless deny the Deity of Jesus Christ. After all, they are admitting it was Jesus Christ who said, “And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14). They agree it was Jesus who said, 'I AM WHO I AM'--they just don't agree that He Is Who He says He Is!

 Who is the Angel of the LORD?

Take Refuge in His Name

In the Messianic age, the meek will take refuge in the name of the LORD:

"I will leave in your midst a meek and humble people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD." (Zephaniah 3:12).

Which name of the Lord?

"And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know." (Acts 3:16).

There is none other name than one to which God's holy remnant will flee for refuge:

"Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).

Jesus means 'Jehovah Savior.' Is this a change in plans, or do believers flee to the same refuge Zephaniah projected: Jehovah the Son?

Has Reigned

There are all manner of systems of governance: democracy, oligarchy, monarchy, aristocracy. Some systems employ a mechanism of representation. But in one very simple governing system, monarchy, there is a sole ruler. God could have chosen any governing system to describe His reign; had He meant it for an oligarchy, that is to say, government by several rulers, He could have so described it. But He did not. He called it a 'kingdom:' "For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations." (Psalm 22:28), that is to say, a monarchy.

Who is the sole ruler who has "begun ruling as king" when God's kingdom comes?:

"And loud voices occurred in heaven, saying: 'The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.' And the twenty-four elders who were seated bewfore God upon their thrones fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying 'We thank you, Jehovah God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king.'" (Revelation 11:15-17 NWT).

The reign of this sole ruler is "the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ." As the Jehovah's Witnesses will protest, monarchs employ subordinate ministers and viceroys and underlings. But God's prophetic word does not advertise a splintering of the monarchy in the latter days, rather its consolidation:

"And the LORD will become king over all the earth; on that day the LORD will be one and his name one." (Zechariah 14:9).

On His Forehead

"And I saw, and look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads." (Revelation 14:1 NWT).

Here is another case where the Jehovah's Witness' New World Translation is more helpful than the majority text. The name of the Lamb and the name of His Father might be one name, YHWH, or two names. John and his readers would have been familiar with the idea of a name inscribed on one's forehead, because the tetragrammaton, YHWH, was upon the high priest's forehead:

"You shall make a rosette of pure gold, and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the LORD.” You shall fasten it on the turban with a blue cord; it shall be on the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take on himself any guilt incurred in the holy offering that the Israelites consecrate as their sacred donations; it shall always be on his forehead, in order that they may find favor before the LORD." (Exodus 28:36-38).

The 144,000 are Jews, sealed from every tribe of Israel (Revelation 7:4). They are 'virgins.' Worship of other gods is likened in the Bible to fornication and adultery. These 'virgins,' unlike those from every nation next mentioned, had never loved any god other than the one to whom they were betrothed at birth. They are consecrated to Jehovah God. It would be strange if the information posted on Aaron's forehead stated otherwise.

Me Whom they have Pierced

Blood flowed from our Savior's side when He was pierced: "But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out...For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled...And again another Scripture says, 'They shall look on Him whom they pierced.'" (John 19:34-37).

And who is the One whom they pierced? The LORD!: "The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:...'And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.'" (Zechariah 12:1-10).

Jehovah is pierced, but only a man can suffer an injury of this sort; thus, God incarnate, as even hostile witnesses must acknowledge:

"In the stroke of the spear he [John] sees the fulfilment of Zech. xii. 10 (better translated by John than by the LXX.), where Jehovah says to the Israelites והביטו אלי את אשר דקרו they shall look on him whom they have pierced, in the sense, that they will one day return to him whom they had so grievously offended. The word דקר, to pierce, understood literally, expresses an act which appears more capable of being directed against a man than against Jehovah. . ." (David Friedrich Strauss, the Life of Jesus Critically Examined, Part III, Chapter IV, Section 134, p. 700).

That Zechariah 12:10 refers to the Messiah is known not only to Christians: "What was the mourning for? R. Dosa and the rabbis differ: One holds that it was for the Messiah the son of Joseph, who was killed. . .It would be right according to one who holds that it was for the Messiah the son of Joseph, because he explains as supporting him the passage [Zech. xii. 10]: 'And they will look up toward me (for every one) whom they have thrust through, and they will lament for him, as one lamenteth for an only son, and weep bitterly for him, as one weepeth bitterly for the firstborn'. . ." (The Babylonian Talmud, edited by Michael L. Rodkinson, Volume VII, Section Moed, Tract Succah, Chapter V, Kindle location 29937). (Why "Messiah the son of Joseph" rather than son of David? Presumably as an expedient to promote the claims of an aspirant not of the lineage of David, plus as a way to reconcile the divergent destinies of the Messiah, which Christians understand to speak of two advents).

The LORD says, they will look upon Me whom they have pierced, and John teaches that scripture was fulfilled in the crucifixion.

My Hands

The LORD complained of having stretched out His hands all day to a disobedient people: "I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts..." (Isaiah 65:2).

There are many such Bible references which are not to be taken literally, but this passage admits of a strictly literal interpretation. When did the LORD stretch out His hands to a rebellious people? On the cross!

Head

Jehovah is "head" of the congregation:

"Yours, O LORD, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O LORD,
And You are exalted as head over all." (1 Chronicles 29:11).

Jesus Christ also is "head" of the congregation:

"...and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power." (Colossians 2:10).

"...but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ..." (Ephesians 4:15).

For any one instance where a title, attribute, or name of Jehovah God is applied to Jesus Christ, a skeptic might retort that it is no more than coincidence, and that the title is not used in the same sense in both cases. Does the language of the Bible intend to convey meaning, or is it only thrown together at random like alphabet soup? Any one instance might be coincidence, but the systematic and consistent application of these titles cannot be.

Keeper of Israel

In Psalm 121, we learn that Jehovah, the living God, is the One who keeps Israel:

"Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand." (Psalm 121:4-5).

In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this reads, "Behold, he that keeps [φυλασσων] Israel shall not slumber nor sleep. The Lord shall keep [φυλαξει] thee: the Lord is thy shelter upon thy right hand." (Brenton Septuagint, Psalm 121:4-5). The verb 'φυλάσσω' means to watch over, to protect. The Septuagint is a translation, not the original; however, Old Testament citations in the New Testament are often conformed to the Septuagint, if only because the Greek-speakers who were reading the Greek New Testament would have verified the scripture quotes by consulting the Septuagint.

In the New Testament, Jesus says that He has kept the believers, the Israel of God:

"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept [εφυλαξα]; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:13).

It is striking the way the titles, attributes and functions of Jehovah in the Old Testament, are systematically assigned to Jesus in the New. One or two of these correspondences might be dismissed as no more than coincidence, but it is hard to dismiss the entire mass.

The Amen

Jesus names Himself 'The Amen:'

“And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, ‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:  I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.’” (Revelation 3:14-15).

Usually we expect to hear 'Amen' as the exclamation point at the end of a prayer, but here it is presented as if it were a name or a title. Where could such a designation have come from? From here:

"So that he who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth [אמן amen]; and he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth [אמן amen]; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hidden from My eyes." (Isaiah 65:15).

That is what the Hebrew text literally says, 'the God Amen,' or 'the God of Amen;' translators generally render is, the God of truth or the God of faithfulness. One of the few who transliterates (as is often done with the word 'Amen') is Jerome: "in quo qui benedictus est super terram benedicetur in deo amen et qui iurat in terra iurabit in deo amen quia oblivioni traditae sunt angustiae priores et quia absconditae sunt ab oculis nostris. . ."

Jesus Christ is God

The Eyes of the Blind

Isaiah gives signs of the times, showing how people will recognize the advent of their God:

"Say to those who are fearful-hearted, 'Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.' Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert." (Isaiah 35:4-6).

Which is why, when the disciples of John the Baptist inquired who Jesus was, He drew their attention to these very signs, then being shown right before their eyes: "When the men had come to Him, they said, 'John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"' And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.'" (Luke 7:20-22, Matthew 11:4-6).

The Qumran covenanters had noticed these same signs of the Messianic era, ". . .For the heavens and the earth shall listen to His Messiah and all which is in them shall not turn away from the commandments of the holy ones. . .For he will honor the pious upon the throne of His eternal kingdom, setting prisoners free, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up those who are bowed down." (Dead Sea Scrolls, Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., and Edward Cook, Fragment 4Q521, p. 421). To people familiar with the methods of the higher critics, never fearful of arguing in a circle, the fact that this was prophesied of the Messiah is more than ample proof it never happened:

"If we have been unable to receive as historical the simple narrative given by all the synoptical writers of the cure of the blind man at Jericho, we are still less prepared to award this character to the mysterious description, given by Mark alone, of the cure of a blind man at Bethsaida, and we must regard it as a product of the legend, with more or less addition from the evangelical narrator. The same judgment must be pronounced on his narrative of the cure of the deaf man who had an impediment in his speech κωφος μογιλαλος; for, together with the negative reasons already adduced against its historical credibility, there are not wanting positive causes for its mythical origin, since the prophecy relating to the messianic times, τοτε ωτα κωφων ακουσονται — τρανη δε εσται γλωσσα μογιλαλων the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, the tongue of the dumb shall sing (Isa. xxxv. 5, 6), was in existence, and according to Matt. xi. 5, was interpreted literally." (David Friedrich Strauss, The Life of Jesus Critically Examined, p. 449).

Not only was it interpreted literally, it happened literally! What are the implications? Who but God gives sight to the blind?:

"The LORD opens the eyes of the blind; the LORD raises those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous." (Psalm 146:8);

"So the LORD said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?'" (Exodus 4:11).

  Psalm 146

Thought it not Robbery

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11).

It is an interpretive challenge indeed to imagine how a mere man might exist "in the form of God." This was Jesus' status prior to the incarnation, when He humbled Himself by taking on the form of a servant. Unless the reader joins the polytheists in counting "the form of God" as a very common thing shared by many, this passage on its face ascribes deity to Jesus Christ.

 The Hymn of Christ

Eternally blessed God

"Certainly it is no mere human being or seraph whom Paul describes as being 'over all, God blessed for ever.' You remind me that these words are referred by some modern scholars to the Eternal Father. Certainly they are; but on what grounds? Of scholarship? What then is Paul's general purpose when he uses these words? He has just been enumerating those eight privileges of the race of Israel...It was from the blood of Israel that the true Christ had sprung, so far as His human nature was concerned; but Christ's Israelitic descent is, in the apostle's eyes, so consummate a glory for Israel, because Christ is much more than one of the sons of men; because by reason of His higher pre-existent nature He is 'over all, God blessed for ever.' This is the natural sense of the passage." (H. P. Liddon, The Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Lecture VI, Divinity as Taught by the Apostles, The Testimony of the Apostle Paul).

  Light of the World

It's not an easy thing to heal the sick and raise the dead. Making alive is God's work:

"And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, 'Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.'" (2 Kings 5:7);

"The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up." (1 Samuel 2:6).

Yet Jesus did:

"Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.' So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother." (Luke 7:14-15).

Scoffers point to similar wonders effected under the ministry of Elisha and Elijah. But which of these mighty prophets himself held authority over life and death?: "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man." (John 5:26-27).

Another sign is the feeding of the multitudes, in answer to an Old Testament promise: "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; and you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1). The One who is the bread from heaven fed them: "Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes." (Matthew 14:19).

So the testimony of the miracles is in and of itself a valuable witness in determining who Jesus is.  Could any mere man ever do such things? Truly He said, "But Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.' And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him." (Luke 8:38-39).

Prosecutors' Indictment

While a prosecutor's charge can be a biased document, sometimes there's a grain of truth to it. Jesus' hearers heard Him teach every day in the temple: "When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." (Luke 22:53).

And they were fully convinced He was claiming to be God:

"The Jews answered Him, saying, 'For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.'" (John 10:33);

"Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God." (John 5:18).

There is independent confirmation the charge involved "apostasy": "Jesus was hanged on Passover Eve. Forty days previously the herald had cried, 'He is being led out for stoning, because he has practiced sorcery and led Israel astray and enticed them into apostasy.'" (Sanhedrin 43a, Talmud, quoted p. 152, Paul Barnett, Jesus and the Rise of Christianity).

Given that the scribes and Pharisees who were fully acquainted with His teaching did indeed believe He was claiming to be God, it seems unlikely such claims only arose later through out-of-context misinterpretations.

Sun of Righteousness

After the transfiguration, the puzzled disciples, wondering at what they'd seen, asked, "And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist." (Matthew 17:11-13).

John himself wasn't aware that he was the prophesied Elijah, but Jesus says that he was: "Elijah has come already." John the Baptist was the fore-runner to Christ: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." (Matthew 3:11).

If John the Baptist was the Elijah who was prophesied to come, then before Whom was he preparing the way? Jesus was quoting Malachi, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.'" (Malachi 4:5-6). It's before the "great and dreadful" day of Jehovah that Elijah/John the Baptist prepares the way. Since John was the fore-runner to Jesus, this leaves Jesus to fit into the slot of fulfilled prophecy...of the LORD.

Speaking about John the Baptist, the angel told Zacharias, "And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him ['enopion auto'] in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:16-17). Before Whom? Before "the Lord their God"!

Truly He is the Sun of righteousness: "But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves." (Malachi 4:2).

Thirty Pieces of Silver

The Jehovah's Witnesses' own New World Translation renders Zechariah 11:12-13 like so: "Then I said to them: 'If it is good in your eyes, give [me] my wages; but if not, refrain.' And they proceeded to pay my wages, thirty pieces of silver. At that, Jehovah said to me: 'Throw it into the treasury - the majestic value with which I have been valued from their standpoint.'" While the original lacks quotation marks, surely the New World translators have taken the most natural view of the passage, that the "thirty pieces of silver" are the price of the LORD's valuation.

And who was it who was appraised at this price? Jesus Christ: "Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, 'What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?' And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver." (Matthew 26:14-15, Matthew 27:9).

Death of the Testator

The letter to Hebrews tells of a new "covenant" (the Greek word is the same as is used for "testament" in 9:16): "Because finding fault with them, He says: 'Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" (Hebrews 8:8-10). This is a quote of Jeremiah 31:31-33: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Can there be any doubt in Chapter 8 that the testator, the party who undertakes to enter into the new testament, is Jehovah God?

But we learn in Chapter 9 that that testator had to die before this new covenant could come into force: "For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives." (Hebrews 9:16-17). This is Jesus Christ: "And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, 'These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life...'" (Revelation 2:8). The NWT concurs: "For where there is a covenant, the death of the [human] covenanter needs to be furnished. For a covenant is valid over dead [victims], since it is not in force at any time while the [human] covenanter is living."

The testator who died is the owner, not an agent for the owner. Unlike Moses who was faithful in the house of another (Numbers 12:7), the Son owns the place: "...but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end." (Hebrews 3:6). Jesus Christ is the householder in whose presence men ate and drank: "When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ (Luke 13:25-26). What name is on the deed of "His own house"?: "I have forsaken mine house..." (Jeremiah 12:7).

Author of Life

"...and you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses." (Acts 3:15).

Who is the author of life?: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7).

Some translations render 'archegos' as 'prince' instead of 'author.' But 'author,' or 'first cause' or 'originator,' is a very literal translation.

  Author of Life

The Blood of God

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28).

It is not in the nature of things for God to bleed. When did He take on this characteristic? When He took on the nature of Abraham's children: "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren..." (Hebrews 2:17).

My Lord and My God

"And Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!' Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'" (John 20:28-29).

"When Thomas beheld the risen Lord, he was as emphatic in his homage as previously in his unbelief. He heard the gracious words that drew his gaze to the pierced hands and the riven side. Then looking into the face that once had been crowned with thorns and into the eyes that once had glistened with human tears, he saw his God. The words of adoration burst forth spontaneously. In his deovtion there could be no reserves. For him the Crucified was henceforth both Lord and God." (H. C. Hewlett, The Glories of Our Lord, p. 42).

One

"'I and My Father are one.'" (John 10:30).

"This denotes more than the harmony, and consent, and good understanding, that were between the Father and the Son in the work of man's redemption. Every good man is so far one with God as to concur with him; therefore it must be meant of the oneness of the nature of Father and Son, that they are the same in substance, and equal in power and glory. . . If we should altogether hold our peace concerning this sense of the words, even the stones which the Jews took up to cast at him would speak it out, for the Jews understood him as hereby making himself God and he did not deny it." (Matthew Henry Commentary).

Mystery of godliness

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory." (1 Timothy 3:16).

God was in Christ

"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

The Word was God

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-14).

Infamously, the New World Translation has here, "...the Word was a god." But wait — how many of those are there, anyway? The Bible count is far more conservative than the Watchtower's: "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, you are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth." (Isaiah 37:16).

Oddly enough, if Jesus were a god, other than Jehovah God...it would not have been lawful for His disciples to address Him by name!: "And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth." (Exodus 23:13).

 The Word was God

Shared Glory

"And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was." (John 17:5).

Is it possible Biblically for the living God to share His glory with another who is not God?

"For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; for how should My name be profaned? And I will not give my glory to another." (Isaiah 48:11).

"I am the LORD, that is My name; and my glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images." (Isaiah 42:8).

Omniscience

Jesus knew the thoughts in men's hearts: "But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?'" (Matthew 9:4).

"Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, 'What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?' But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.'" (Mark 9:33-35).

"Now when they drew near Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples; and He said to them, 'Go into the village opposite you; and as soon as you have entered it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has sat. Loose it and bring it.'" (Mark 11:1-2).

"Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" (John 4:29).

"For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel." (John 5:20).

To unbelievers, it seems absurd, even meaningless to ascribe omniscience to a human being: "So also omniscience: what could it mean to say that a human is 'omniscient' and that Jesus in particular was? That he would 'know everything' — including, for example, the theory of relativity and the capital of Oregon?" (Marcus J. Borg, Jesus Uncovering the Life, page 7). But the Bible unblushingly says that He knows "all things:"

"Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God." (John 16:30).

"Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, 'Whom are you seeking?'" (John 18:4).

"He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?' Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, 'Do you love Me?' And he said to Him, 'Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.'" (John 21:17).

But there is also evidence of nescience on the part of Jesus:

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." (Luke 2:52).

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." (Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:32).

Jesus Christ is both man and God. He took on our nature: "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:17).  It seems more consistent to refer nescience to His humanity rather than discounting Bible testimony that He knows "all things."

Omnipotence

If Jesus possesses all the divine attributes, like omniscience, omnipotence, eternity, and omnipresence, then what can He be but God?

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.'" (Matthew 28:18).

"All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father." (Matthew 11:27).

"Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself." (John 13:3).

Omnipresence

God is omnipresent: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 139:7-10).

Jesus Christ is omnipresent:

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20).

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." (John 3:13).

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (John 14:23).

God fills all things: "'Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?' says the LORD; 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?' says the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:24). Jesus Christ fills all things: "He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)" (Ephesians 4:10).

Change Not

Immutability is another essential attribute of deity. Earthly things change, God remains the same:

"For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob." (Malachi 3:6).

On which side of the divine/earthly divide does Jesus fall?:

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8).

Yesterday, Today and Forever

Eternity is another essential attribute of deity. Transient earthly things come into being and pass away, God alone is eternal:

"Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. For I raise My hand to heaven, and say, 'As I live forever, if I whet My glittering sword, and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, and repay those who hate Me.'" (Deuteronomy 38:39-41);

"The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer..." (Revelation 10:5-6).

Jesus Christ the Messiah ever was, is, and ever shall be:

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2).

 The Son: Eternal God