Who is The Speaker in Isaiah 48:16?
“Come near to Me, listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
The Speaker in this verse, and the passage, is distinct from “Yah·weh ’ă·ḏō·nāy”, which is incorrectly translated as “Lord God”. It should read, “Lord YHWH”.
“Lord YHWH”, is the Sender, and the Speaker is the One Who is Sent (šə·lā·ḥa·nî, “has sent Me”).
As the Speaker is One of Two Who are Sent by “Lord YHWH”, there can be no doubt that He is Jesus Christ, and “wə·rū·ḥōw”, “His Spirit”, is the Holy Spirit.
In verse 3 the Speaker, Who is Jesus Christ, says, “I declared the former things long ago, And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them”, as in verse 5
In verse 11, Jesus says, “And I will not give My Glory to another”. In Isaiah 42:8, we read: “I am Yahweh. That is my Name. I will not give My Glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images”. Clearly Jesus Christ is also Yahweh.
In verses 12 and 13, Jesus goes on to say, “Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Assuredly My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together”. In Isaiah 44:6, we read, “This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the First, and I am the Last; and besides me there is no God”. The phrase, “I am the First, and I am the Last”, literally has the meaning, “The Eternal One”, with no beginning or end. Both Jesus Christ, and the Father are coeternal, as both are Yahweh. And, again, in Isaiah 45:11-12, we read, “Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker says: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands! I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens. I have commanded all their army”. These words are spoken by Jesus Christ in the passage in chapter 48 of Isaiah!
This passage in Isaiah 48, is one of the strongest in the Old Testament, which is pre Christian, that teaches that Jesus The Messiah, is Himself Yahweh, Almighty God, Who is coequal and coeternal with God the Father. It also teaches, that there are Two distinct Persons, the Sender and the One Sent, Who are both Yahweh.
In the Book of the Prophet Zechariah, we read in Chapter 2, verses 6-12, where the Speaker is also Yahweh, and says that Another Person, “Yahweh of the Armies”, is Sending Him.
Verses 11 and 12, “for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares Yahweh...and you will know that Yahweh of armies has sent Me to you”
Here we have in the Jewish Old Testament, clear teaching that the God of the Holy Bible is not One Person. There are Two in these passages Who are YHWH, the Father and Jesus Christ.
This destroys the hersey of Unitarianism!
“Come near to Me, listen to this: From the beginning I have not spoken in secret, From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
The Speaker in this verse, and the passage, is distinct from “Yah·weh ’ă·ḏō·nāy”, which is incorrectly translated as “Lord God”. It should read, “Lord YHWH”.
“Lord YHWH”, is the Sender, and the Speaker is the One Who is Sent (šə·lā·ḥa·nî, “has sent Me”).
As the Speaker is One of Two Who are Sent by “Lord YHWH”, there can be no doubt that He is Jesus Christ, and “wə·rū·ḥōw”, “His Spirit”, is the Holy Spirit.
In verse 3 the Speaker, Who is Jesus Christ, says, “I declared the former things long ago, And they went out of My mouth, and I proclaimed them”, as in verse 5
In verse 11, Jesus says, “And I will not give My Glory to another”. In Isaiah 42:8, we read: “I am Yahweh. That is my Name. I will not give My Glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images”. Clearly Jesus Christ is also Yahweh.
In verses 12 and 13, Jesus goes on to say, “Listen to Me, Jacob, Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Assuredly My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together”. In Isaiah 44:6, we read, “This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the First, and I am the Last; and besides me there is no God”. The phrase, “I am the First, and I am the Last”, literally has the meaning, “The Eternal One”, with no beginning or end. Both Jesus Christ, and the Father are coeternal, as both are Yahweh. And, again, in Isaiah 45:11-12, we read, “Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker says: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands! I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens. I have commanded all their army”. These words are spoken by Jesus Christ in the passage in chapter 48 of Isaiah!
This passage in Isaiah 48, is one of the strongest in the Old Testament, which is pre Christian, that teaches that Jesus The Messiah, is Himself Yahweh, Almighty God, Who is coequal and coeternal with God the Father. It also teaches, that there are Two distinct Persons, the Sender and the One Sent, Who are both Yahweh.
In the Book of the Prophet Zechariah, we read in Chapter 2, verses 6-12, where the Speaker is also Yahweh, and says that Another Person, “Yahweh of the Armies”, is Sending Him.
Verses 11 and 12, “for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares Yahweh...and you will know that Yahweh of armies has sent Me to you”
Here we have in the Jewish Old Testament, clear teaching that the God of the Holy Bible is not One Person. There are Two in these passages Who are YHWH, the Father and Jesus Christ.
This destroys the hersey of Unitarianism!