The First Coming of Yahweh
There are some who say that Jesus Christ never claimed to be God, and that the Bible really does not say that He is God. These are falsehoods that the devil, who is the enemy of the Great God of the Holy Bible, is teaching those foolish enough to believe him!
The facts are clear in the Bible, Jesus Christ IS ALMIGHTY GOD, YAHWEH. Not only does He say this of Himself, but both Old Testament Prophecy, and New Testament fulfilment, confirms that Great Truth.
Jesus’ own Words:
Matthew 11:10 Luke 7:27
“οὗτός ἐστιν περὶ οὗ γέγραπται. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου ἔμπροσθέν σου”
“For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee” (KJV)
Mark 1:2-3
“As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”
“Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου”
In the Hebrew it reads of Malachi 3:1, to which Jesus is referring, it reads:
“Behold, Me (הִנְנִי) One sending My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me (לְפָנָי), and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts”
If we look at the Greek Septuagint Old Testament, which was made from the Hebrew, by Jews about 100 years before the Birth of Jesus Christ, we read:
“ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξαποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου, καὶ ἐπιβλέψεται ὁδὸν πρὸ προσώπου μου…λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ”
“Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me..Says The Lord Almighty”
In Malachi, we have the first person used in the Hebrew, “before Me (לְפָנָי, μου)”. Jesus has changed the pronoun to the second person, “before you (σου)”. By doing this, Jesus makes Himself the Speaker in Malachi 3:1, “Behold Me”, and He as Yahweh, is the One Who is Coming as “The Messenger of the Covenant”. Jesus makes John the Baptist His Forerunner, to Announce His First Coming.
We read this in the Gospels, as in Matthew 3:3;
“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight”
This is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3
“A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the Way of Yahweh; make straight in the desert a highway for our God”
As early as the 2nd century, Irenaeus who was Bishop of Lyon (120-200 AD), quotes Matthew and Luke, as:
“he, the forerunner of Christ, of whom Matthew again says, and Luke likewise, " For this is he that
was spoken of from the Lord by the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough into smooth ways; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." (Against Heresies, Book III, Ch. 9)
Where he reads “Paths of our GOD”, and not “His Paths”. Which is what Isaiah says, “τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν”
In Luke chapter 1 we read about John the Baptist:
“But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before Him 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 for the Lord a people prepared.” (verses 13-17)
John is here said to be the Forerunner of “The Lord”, and “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God”. The “Lord” here is no doubt Yahweh, as we also read in Luke 1:76, “Now as for thee, child, thou shalt be called a prophet of the Most High; for thou shall go before in the presence of the Lord, to prepare his ways”
In verse 17 we read, “and he will go before Him”, which is John the Baptist going before the Lord Jesus Christ. The “αὐτοῦ” (Him), refers to “the Lord their God” (κύριον τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν), as verse 17 begins with the Greek particle, “καὶ”, (and), which is continuing what has just been said.
It is clear that the Prophecy of The Coming of Yahweh, is fulfilled in The Coming of Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ clearly saying that He is YAHWEH.
In the Hebrew and English Lexicon, by F Brown, S R Driver and C A Briggs, we read of "Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel...the one bringing into being, life-giver, giver of existence, creator, he who brings to pass...he who causes...the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, ever-living" (pages 217-218)
For those who oppose that Jesus Christ IS Almighty God, and not some created being, or lesser “god”, the Bible is AGAINST what they believe!
There are some who say that Jesus Christ never claimed to be God, and that the Bible really does not say that He is God. These are falsehoods that the devil, who is the enemy of the Great God of the Holy Bible, is teaching those foolish enough to believe him!
The facts are clear in the Bible, Jesus Christ IS ALMIGHTY GOD, YAHWEH. Not only does He say this of Himself, but both Old Testament Prophecy, and New Testament fulfilment, confirms that Great Truth.
Jesus’ own Words:
Matthew 11:10 Luke 7:27
“οὗτός ἐστιν περὶ οὗ γέγραπται. Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου ἔμπροσθέν σου”
“For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee” (KJV)
Mark 1:2-3
“As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight”
“Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου”
In the Hebrew it reads of Malachi 3:1, to which Jesus is referring, it reads:
“Behold, Me (הִנְנִי) One sending My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me (לְפָנָי), and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts”
If we look at the Greek Septuagint Old Testament, which was made from the Hebrew, by Jews about 100 years before the Birth of Jesus Christ, we read:
“ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξαποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου, καὶ ἐπιβλέψεται ὁδὸν πρὸ προσώπου μου…λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ”
“Behold, I send forth my messenger, and he shall survey the way before me..Says The Lord Almighty”
In Malachi, we have the first person used in the Hebrew, “before Me (לְפָנָי, μου)”. Jesus has changed the pronoun to the second person, “before you (σου)”. By doing this, Jesus makes Himself the Speaker in Malachi 3:1, “Behold Me”, and He as Yahweh, is the One Who is Coming as “The Messenger of the Covenant”. Jesus makes John the Baptist His Forerunner, to Announce His First Coming.
We read this in the Gospels, as in Matthew 3:3;
“For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight”
This is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3
“A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the Way of Yahweh; make straight in the desert a highway for our God”
As early as the 2nd century, Irenaeus who was Bishop of Lyon (120-200 AD), quotes Matthew and Luke, as:
“he, the forerunner of Christ, of whom Matthew again says, and Luke likewise, " For this is he that
was spoken of from the Lord by the prophet, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough into smooth ways; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." (Against Heresies, Book III, Ch. 9)
Where he reads “Paths of our GOD”, and not “His Paths”. Which is what Isaiah says, “τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν”
In Luke chapter 1 we read about John the Baptist:
“But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before Him 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 for the Lord a people prepared.” (verses 13-17)
John is here said to be the Forerunner of “The Lord”, and “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God”. The “Lord” here is no doubt Yahweh, as we also read in Luke 1:76, “Now as for thee, child, thou shalt be called a prophet of the Most High; for thou shall go before in the presence of the Lord, to prepare his ways”
In verse 17 we read, “and he will go before Him”, which is John the Baptist going before the Lord Jesus Christ. The “αὐτοῦ” (Him), refers to “the Lord their God” (κύριον τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν), as verse 17 begins with the Greek particle, “καὶ”, (and), which is continuing what has just been said.
It is clear that the Prophecy of The Coming of Yahweh, is fulfilled in The Coming of Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ clearly saying that He is YAHWEH.
In the Hebrew and English Lexicon, by F Brown, S R Driver and C A Briggs, we read of "Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel...the one bringing into being, life-giver, giver of existence, creator, he who brings to pass...he who causes...the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, ever-living" (pages 217-218)
For those who oppose that Jesus Christ IS Almighty God, and not some created being, or lesser “god”, the Bible is AGAINST what they believe!
