the Ten Words Series
Divinity
by haRold Smith
a citizen of the Commonwealth (Ephesians 2:19)
"You shall have no other gods besides Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I YaHoVeH your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those
who love Me and therefore keep My commandments." Exodus 20:3-6
After the article,
Forgiveness (click on highlighted words to view content),
Jim wrote to ask, "I'm grappling with the idea mentioned at the end of the article that to worship Jesus is following another god. Doesn't Yeshua declare in Matthew 10:32 that we must come to the Father through Him? Again, Matthew 11:27 says all things were given to Yeshua. John 10:25-31 says He and the Father are one and in Hebrews 1:5-8, YaHoVeH refers to Yeshua as God."
The Name, YaHoVeH,
appears over 6,500 times in scripture - yet, not once does His Name ever appear in any of our "modern" translations. It has been replaced in these translations by the names Jehovah, Adonai, or LORD - none of which has any equivalency to what appears in the original Hebrew those scriptures were written in. Wherever you see the capitalization of Lord or God in the scriptures, that is where the Name of YaHoVeH appeared in the original manuscripts
(refer to Deuteronomy 6:4).
The same is true for the name of the Son, Yeshua - it has been replaced by the name
"Jesus"
which does not appear in the original scriptures and did not even show up in the English language until the mid-17th century
(reference the first KJV
printed in 1611). Why do you think that is? Did that just happen by accident - a quirk? Or was it by design? Does the term
replacement theology
come to mind? Things became really muddled with the translation of the Messianic Writings because of the carry-over of this agenda of the translators to enhance the doctrine of a
triune godhead
which tells us, that since Yeshua IS the Father, the words "God", "Jesus" and "Lord" now become interchangeable. But, for these Hebrews writing these letters from a Hebrew perspective formed out of a Hebrew mindset that was influenced by Hebrew culture and were addressed primarily to a Hebrew audience which understood the nuances of the Hebrew language, they were well aware of what all of these words are alluding to - the one True Holy One of Israel.
Yeshua said He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life: no man comes to the Father except through (or by) Me"
(John 14:6).
Framed another way, that thought can also be stated, My Life is the only Way Truth (YaHoVeH) is exampled and no man can find any Way to the Truth of the Father,Who is the Source of Life, except by incorporating
the Virtue
found in the example of My Life into his own.. The Greek word translated as the English "Lord" is
kyrios
which means "supreme in authority". Yeshua said in
John 14:28
that YaHoVeH was "greater" than He was and, while YaHoVeH has given Yeshua
all authority
to complete the task He was given, Paul says it is plain that YaHoVeH is
excepted from that authority.
The English word "God" in Hebrews 1:8 is translated from the Greek word
theos
whose definition is "a god or goddess, a general name given to deities or divinities". But, since the Greeks worshiped multiple deities, we see this cultural influence overwriting the translation of the Hebrew name, elohim (also translated as "God" in the quoted verse from
Psalm 45:6)
which also means, "gods in the ordinary sense; but also rulers, judges, divine ones".
So, the real question to be asked becomes, "Is Yeshua divine?" The simple answer to that question is "Yes" - but, with a caveat. The divinity of Yeshua is upheld - it is the concept of divinity itself that is being questioned. What is interesting to note is that the English word "divinity" is nowhere to be found in scripture and the Greek word
theios
(translated as the English "divine") is only found in
two passages
in the Messianic Writings (NT) and one of those is actually translated as "Godhead" which we found in a
previous article
not to exist. One would think that a doctrine as intrinsic to Christianity as the divinity of Yeshua would be given more substance among these Hebrew authors. The one passage in
1Peter 1:3-4
that translates this Greek word properly speaks of the divine nature of YaHoVeH - not Yeshua. Yeshua became One with the Father of Life because He kept the Words of His Father
(John 8:54-55).
Does this mean that, in being one with the Father, Yeshua replaces YaHoVeH as the Only One True God of Israel? The scripture says - no
(see who is the Word).
Throughout scripture, Yeshua is referred to as the "Son of YaHoVeH", formed in
the image
of YaHoVeH but not YaHoVeH Himself. He is the "right arm" of the Father, seated at the "right hand" with YaHoVeH,
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...the Ten Words of Life
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enjoying all the preeminence of the firstborn Son; while, at the same time, being
echad
(Hebrew for "one or unity") in the shared image of the Father - but not replacing the Father. This is the mystery of echad, the shared image
(Isaiah 59:16,
Acts 2:33,
Revelation 19:10,
see the Inheritance for more about the mystery of echad).
He is like the Father in that He manifests the Nature of YaHoVeH. His credentials for being Spirit (divine) are that He became one with YaHoVeH by keeping the Father's Words. The caveat is - so are any who embrace the manner, the example of Life Yeshua led while in the flesh among us, Yeshua became the "first among many brethren," leading the Way and opening the portal to become Spirit for all who would follow after His Way. In
John 17:20-21,
Yeshua prays that all of those who believe in Him as the Promised Messiah sent to
restore the Kingdom of YaHoVeH,
be one in the Father
"just as"
(meaning in like fashion, in similar manner - just as) He, Yeshua, is one in YaHoVeH. Now, instead of there being "one in three", as Christianity has traditionally taught, we have "one in innumerable"
(Romans 8:29,
Acts 26:23,
Colossians 1:18,
see The Fulfillment for more explanation).
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And Yeshua answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship YaHoVeH, your God, and
Him ONLY shall you serve'." (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13)
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Should we worship Yeshua? According to Yeshua's words - no. Any more than we should worship any of the other divine brethren. He never told us to worship Him. This does not detract from the magnificence of what Yeshua has done in the obedience of and the laying down of His Life in order for the Father's Declared Purpose to be manifest in this earthly realm. This makes Him more than "just a prophet". If we are to understand and discern what our role is in this same Purpose of the Father, we need to properly handle the Words we have been given to explain that Purpose from a standpoint of truth and mental honesty
(see the Covering
and the Gospel for an in-depth look at that Purpose).
Yeshua, as the Son of YaHoVeH, accorded all the rights and privileges that position affords Him, said the Father was
greater than He.
As such, because He has proven Himself faithful to the Father's Purpose,
Hebrews 12:1-2
says He has been given the seat at the right hand of the Father with all the accolades that rightfully comes with that position. Because He chose not to keep that pathway into the Father's Presence for Himself but laid it down so that anyone who chooses to be
as He is in this world
becomes a
member of His Body
(see what it means to be Light),
seated with Him as part of His Body at the right hand of the Father; makes Him even more worthy of all the praise, adoration, glory and thankfulness deserving of His Selflessness
(Romans 8:16-17,
Ephesians 2:6).
This is what it means to be
One with Him.
Thus, the Word, YaHoVeH, becomes (is manifested) in the flesh of the Sons of YaHoVeH who
choose
to Obey the Voice and Commandments of the Father through the Power of the exercise of ruach hakodesh (Hebrew for
the holiness of spirit)
in the same manner as the Son Who, being the first born among
many brethren,
gave the example for us to follow. The
testimony
we have to offer, the Word we keep, is His Life lived in us.
In the article,
Outside the Camp,
we found where the children of Israel had shifted their worship off of YaHoVeH, the source of their healing, to make an idol out of the brazen serpent that Moses had made some years earlier - what had come to be known as
Nehushtan,
the carved or fashioned "thing of brass" that had once been the conduit through which healing had passed. In similar fashion, the crucifix with "the Savior" attached did not appear until the fifth century AFTER the Resurrection. Christianity's obsessiveness with obliterating everything Hebrew from that religion has caused its followers to be led in the footsteps of those Israelites to transgress the second of those Ten Words given from YaHoVeH by making and, thereby, worshiping the carved image of a cross. Almost every establishment in which Christians congregate to worship does so under some sort of a carved image of a cross. That those actions are done out of
the tradition of ignorance
because it has always been done that way does not obliterate or excuse the fact of the action for the individual - what we give ourselves to is what we serve and what we serve IS what we worship. That has never changed
(Deuteronomy 11:16,
Luke 4:8).
So, therefore, Christians can not be considered
"brethren of YaHoVeH's Kingdom"
any more than Islamists because they break the first and second of the Ten Words of the Father by worshiping the anglicized "Jesus" as their god instead of the Hebrew
YaHoVeH.
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Divinity, a discussion
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"Yeshua answered 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. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words.
whoever calls on the name of YaHoVeH shall be saved." John 14:23-24, Romans 10:13
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the Ten Words Series
Part One: Divinity
Part Two: Keeping the Sabbath
Part Three: Honor, Murder & Adultery
Part Four: Covetousness
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???Questions???
Please feel free to email me at harold@hethathasanear.com.
While not claiming to have all
the answers, it would be an honor to partake with you of what Spirit is uncovering.
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