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Messiah Our Righteousness: The Elijah to Come
In this post, I will quote from various Jewish sources where the Messiah is given the names YHWH our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6) and Elijah (Mal. 4:5). All emphasis will be mine. Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I shall raise up for David an Anointed One of righteousness,c 3 and he shall reign as king and prosper, and he shall perform true justice and righteousness on the land. In his days those of the house of Judah shall be redeemed, and Israel shall dwell
samshmn
1 minute ago9 min read
The Davidic Branch in Rabbinic Judaism
The Hebrew Bible prophesies the coming of a human Ruler called the Branch, a King who would be a physical descendant of David. What makes this specific Potentate rather amazing is that his name shall be Jehovah our Righteousness! “Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safe
samshmn
6 minutes ago5 min read
THE PRIESTLY MESSIANIC BRANCH
According to rabbinic tradition one of the Messiah’s titles is “Branch” (tsemach), which is derived from texts such as Jeremiah 23:5-6, Zechariah 3:8 and 6:12-13. What makes this rather interesting is that according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, the Messiah possesses God’s very own unique name: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and prosper And do justice and righteousness in the land.
samshmn
12 minutes ago11 min read
TRENT ON GENESIS AS HISTORY
The following excerpt is taken from The Catechism of the Council of Trent, pp. 41-43. It shows that the official Catholic position on the Genesis account of creation is that it is actual sacred history, and not mythology. All emphasis will be mine. Not Three Almighties But One Almighty When, however, in this Article we call the Father almighty, let no one be led into the error of thinking that this attribute is so ascribed to Him as not to belong also to the Son and the Holy
samshmn
2 hours ago6 min read
MARTIN LUTHER, JAMES & NT CANON
The following is taken from this post, “Luther’s Treatment of the Disputed Books of the New Testament”. I include it here in its entirety since it exposes Martin Luther’s disdain of James and a few other NT writings simply because he felt they did not agree (and could not be harmonized) with HIS interpretation of Paul’s teaching on justification. The readers will see the arrogance of Luther in assigning to himself the right to criticize the NT canon and to determine which boo
samshmn
2 hours ago9 min read
FLORENCE AND THE CANON
According to the online Catholic Encyclopedia, among the reasons why the Council of Florence was convened was to settle the issues of purgatory, the filioque and papal primacy in order to reunite the Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churched with Rome: The Ferrara Council opened on 8 January, 1438, under the presidency of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati, whom the pope had commissioned to represent him until he could appear in person. It had, of course, no other objects than those of
samshmn
2 hours ago22 min read
The Bible on Mosaic Authorship of the Torah
There is explicit evidence within the canon of the Holy Bible that the Pentateuch, or the first five Books of the OT, are the Torah or Law which God gave to and through Moses. For starters, the Hebrew Bible consistently refers either to the book of the Law of Moses, the Law of Moses, or what God commanded through Moses: “Yet he did not put the sons of the assassins to death, in accordance with what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses where the LORD commanded: ‘Fath
samshmn
4 days ago9 min read
Early Church on Jesus as the Almighty of Rev. 1:8
In this article I will quote various Christian writers, theologians, apologists and/or fathers of the early Church in relation to their interpretation of the following verse from John’s Apocalypse: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.’” Revelation 1:8 New International Version (NIV) Here’s another translation, which is based on a different Greek text: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the endi
samshmn
4 days ago24 min read
Worshiping the Messianic King
In this post I will quote specific Old Testament texts, which Jewish traditions interprets as Messianic prophecies, in order to show that the nations are commanded to worship the Messiah. I will provide those Jewish traditions to affirm the Messianic understanding of thes verses. All emphasis will be mine. Psalm 45 6 Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever. The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice. 7 You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong. Tha
samshmn
5 days ago10 min read
The Canon as Protestantism’s Achilles’ Heel Pt. 2
I continue with the extracts from Eusebius’ history in regards to the debates and disagreements over the canon: The Canon as Protestantism’s Achilles’ Heel Pt. 1. Book VI Chapter 14. The Scriptures mentioned by Him. 1. To sum up briefly, he has given in the Hypotyposes abridged accounts of all canonical Scripture, not omitting the disputed books, — I refer to Jude and the other Catholic epistles, and Barnabas and the so-called Apocalypse of Peter. 2. He says that the
samshmn
5 days ago25 min read
The Canon as Protestantism’s Achilles’ Heel Pt. 1
In this post I will be quoting sections of Eusebius’ Church History in respect to the various debates and disagreements over the canonicity of particular books, which were/are considered sacred. Some of these writings did not make it into the canon but were highly regarded and viewed as inspired by some if not many early Christians. The purpose in highlighting these debates is to show the dilemma that Protestants who affirm Sola Scriptura face since one cannot have the Scri
samshmn
6 days ago14 min read
The Apostle John’s Love of Christ’s Lost Sheep
The following historical anecdote is taken from Eusebius’ Church History, Book III. It shows the great love that John had for Christ’s flock and his willingness to sacrifice everything for their salvation. All emphasis is mine. Chapter 23. Narrative Concerning John the Apostle. 1. At that time the apostle and evangelist John, the one whom Jesus loved, was still living in Asia, and governing the churches of that region, having returned after the death of Domitian from his
samshmn
6 days ago5 min read
HAS JESUS ALWAYS BEEN JEHOVAH GOD? PT. 3
I now come to the final segment of my discussion: HAS JESUS ALWAYS BEEN JEHOVAH GOD? PT. 2. Further evidence that Christ has always possessed the divine name seeing that has always been God as to his very nature comes from Thomas’ climactic confession after beholding the risen Lord in his glorified, immortal physical fleshly body: “But Thomas, one of the Twelve, who was called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were telling him: ‘We have seen
samshmn
7 days ago13 min read
HAS JESUS ALWAYS BEEN JEHOVAH GOD? PT. 2
REFUTING ANOTHER ANTI-TRINITARIAN RUSE I continue from where I previously left off: HAS JESUS ALWAYS BEEN JEHOVAH GOD? PT. 1. In this post I will provide further evidence that Jesus has always existed as Jehovah God by nature. THE WITNESS OF THE BAPTIST Another way of proving that Jesus has always possessed the name Jehovah is by seeing how John the Baptist described himself: “He said: ‘I am a voice of someone crying out in the wilderness, “Make the way of Jehovah straight,”
samshmn
7 days ago16 min read
HAS JESUS ALWAYS BEEN JEHOVAH GOD? PT. 1
REFUTING ANOTHER ANTI-TRINITARIAN RUSE There are anti-Trinitarian cults that interpret the following words of the Lord as a denial of his being Jehovah by his very nature: “I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them on account of your own name, which you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them, I used to watch over them on account of your own name, which you have given me
samshmn
7 days ago17 min read
To the Glory of God the Son Pt. 3
Refuting A Common Arian Canard In this final segment (To the Glory of God the Son Pt. 2), I am going to take a further look at the text of Philippians in order to show that the very context of this verse refutes the notion of Jesus being a creature exalted by God. Note carefully what the blessed Apostle wrote: “for which very reason God raised him supremely high (hyperhypsosen) and granted him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus EVERY knee of what is IN HEAVE
samshmn
7 days ago9 min read
To the Glory of God the Son Pt. 2
Refuting A Common Arian Canard I resume my refutation of Greg Stafford and his fellow Arian heretics: To the Glory of God the Son Pt. 1. As I had noted previously, the glorification of the Father and the Son is reciprocal in that it isn’t merely the Son that glorifies God. Rather, the Father himself is committed to glorifying the Son in like manner: “‘But I am not seeking glory for myself; there is One who is seeking and judging.’… Jesus answered: ‘If I glorify myself, my gl
samshmn
7 days ago8 min read
To the Glory of God the Son Pt. 1
Refuting A Common Arian Canard There are certain Arian (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism) apologists, specifically Gregory Stafford, the founder of a cult group called Christian Witnesses of Jah that recently sprung into existence (http://elihubooks.com), that employ the following passage, “and every tongue should openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:11 To argue for their belief that Christ is a subordinate deity si
samshmn
7 days ago7 min read
JESUS: THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD
The Scriptures distinguish the true God from the other so-called gods by identifying him as the God of the Patriarchs, i.e., the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The sacred writings further do so by referring to him as the God of Israel: “Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abi′hu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not la
samshmn
Jul 2714 min read
Early Church on the Book of Enoch
In this post I will quote from some of the early Christian writers that either viewed the book of Enoch as Scripture or believed it contained genuine prophecies. All emphasis will be mine. Jude 14Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, also prophesied against them when he said, 15“Behold, the Lord is coming with tens of thousands of his saints, to pronounce judgment on humanity and to convict all the ungodly for all the godless deeds that each has impiously committ
samshmn
Jul 2512 min read
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