**NOTE: Yeshua is the Hebraic name for Jesus. Subj: Is Yeshua Messiah or G-d ? Date: 97-06-06 14:17:00 EDT From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com Reply-to: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com To: heb_roots_chr@geocities.com (Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup) From: "David Lyon" To: Subject: Is Yeshua Messiah or G-d ? Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 10:27:12 +1000 Eddie Shalom, I recently had a discussion with a number of Christians who are insistant that Yeshua is G-d. I can find only a few scriptures by John which could suggest this, and a large number of scriptures that say that Yeshua, before becoming a man, was G-ds highest Angel (Exodus 23:20 and others) or Heavenly being. I take this to mean that Yeshua is G-ds true divine Son, the Messiah. This would mean that Yeshua is a dependant entity from the Father, the One True G-d of Isreal, but not G-d himself. If you could throw any light on this subject, I would appreciate it. For me, I don't mind if people say that Yeshua is G-d, because there is little practical difference as far as I am concerned anyway. It only makes a difference when one talks with the Jewish, for them, there is a BIG difference. Regards David From Eddie: *************** By understanding WHAT you are reading, the Bible tells us OVER and OVER and OVER that Yeshua/Jesus is God manifested in the flesh. God is ECHAD and ECHAD means a "compound unity". Regarding this being an issue among religious Jews ... this is because as a CORPORATE people they have rejected Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah and therefore also rejected that HE was/is God manifested in the flesh. So, this is understandable. The religious Jews are in error in not realizing that Yeshua/Jesus is Messiah and are therefore in error in not recognizing that Yeshua/Jesus is God manifested in the flesh. Let me try to explain SOME scriptures that allows us to understand that Yeshua/Jesus is God. To begin with, Yeshua/Jesus was born of a virgin. This is SUPERNATURAL. A normal man cannot be born of a virgin. Secondly, Yeshua/Jesus was/is SINLESS. It Hebrews 4:14-15 it is written: "Seeing that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God ... for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities: but was in ALL POINTS TEMPTED like as we are YET WITHOUT SIN" This is in contrast to mankind in Romans 5:12 it is written: "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sinned entered into the world an death by sin and so death passed upon ALL MEN, for that ALL have sinned" Since ALL MANKIND sins and Yeshua/Jesus NEVER sinned, He COULD NOT be "just a man". Because He was born of a VIRGIN, He COULD NOT be "just a man". Yeshua/Jesus was 100% man and 100% God. In I Timothy 2:5 it is written: "For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus". In I Timothy 3:16 it is written: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: GOD was manifest in the FLESH (Yeshua/Jesus) ... received up into glory" So, Timothy tells us that Yeshua/Jesus was a man and He also tells us that Yeshua/Jesus is God. You CANNOT mediate a "dispute" unless you understand BOTH sides. Man cannot understand the depth and fullness of God because he is not God. However, Yeshua/Jesus can understand God because He is God and He can understand man because He came and lived as a man. Therefore, being 100% God and 100% man, Yeshua/Jesus can be a PERFECT MEDIATOR and UNDERSTAND both sides of the dispute. There is only one Messiah and HE is GOD. Man cannot be our salvation. Only GOD is our salvation. God is our salvation and He is our redeemer. In Isaiah 12:2: "Behold, GOD is my SALVATION (Yeshua) ..." This says that God is my Yeshua. Consider Isaiah 60:16: "... I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer (1350), the mighty One of Jacob" Isaiah 59:20: "And the Redeemer (1350) shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob saith the Lord" So, in Isaiah 12:2 ... GOD is my Salvation (which means YESHUA which is the name of Jesus ... Matthew 1:21) In Isaiah 12:2 ... God is my REDEEMER In Isaiah 59:20, the REDEEMER comes to Zion (this speaks about Jesus coming to redeem us of our sins by dying on the tree). In Isaiah 45:21-23 it is written: " ... there is no God else beside me: a just GOD and a SAVIOR, there is none beside me ... I have sworn my myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, EVERY TONGUE SHALL SWEAR ..." In Philippians 2:10-11, it tells us that this is JESUS as it is written: "That at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of things in heaven, and things in the earth and things under the earth: and that EVERY TONGUE should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD (YHVH in Hebrew) to the glory of God the Father" God the "Father" and God the "Son" describes a RELATIONSHIP and AUTHORITY within the Godhead. In Colossians 2:9 it is written: "For in him (Jesus) dwells the FULLNESS of the GODHEAD BODILY" This scripture tells us that the GODHEAD manifested itself BODILY. The SHEMA teaches us that God is a compound unity and that Yeshua/Jesus is God. The Shema states: "Shema Yisrael Adonai (YHVH) our God (ELoheynu). YHVH is our EL. YHVH decribes the characteristics of Yeshua/Jesus. EL describes the characteristics of God the Father. Is Yeshua/Jesus active in the Old Testament? The answer is YES! Scripture? How about Psalm 40:7: "Then said, I, Lo, I come: in the VOLUME of the BOOK, it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God, yea thy TORAH is within my heart" Hebrews 10:5, 7 "Wherefore when he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering you would not, but a BODY have you prepared me .. Then said, I , Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God" Here we can see that "the volume of the book" (The Torah, Prophets and Writings ... the TeNaKh ... the Old Testament) speak about Yeshua/Jesus. Yeshua/Jesus said in Luke 24:44: "And he said unto them, These are the words which I speak unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the TORAH of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning ME" Every reference in the Old Testament to YHVH is a reference to Yeshua/Jesus. God the Father is referenced as El or Elohim. Let us consider that Yeshua/Jesus is YHVH. In Acts 1:6-12, Yeshua/Jesus answers a final question of the disciples (Talmidim/Students). After answering the question, He ascends into heaven FROM the MOUNT OF OLIVES. Acts 1:9-12: "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up: and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel: Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same JESUS which is taken up from you into heaven, SHALL COME IN THE SAME MANNER as you have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from THE MOUNT CALLED OLIVET (Mount of Olives)". So, this tells us that Yeshua/Jesus will return at his second coming and set His feet on the Mount of Olives. Is this mentioned in the TeNaKh? In Zechariah 14:3-4,9 "Then shall the LORD (YHVH) go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle and HIS feet (YHVH) shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives ... and the Lord (YHVH) shall be KING over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord (YHVH) and his name one" Was it God the Father who ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives? No, it was Yeshua/Jesus. Is God the Father going to set His feet down on the Mount of Olives in Zechariah 14:4? No, according to Acts 1:6-12, it is Yeshua/Jesus and in Zechariah 14:3 it tells us that the one who is setting His feet down on the Mount of Olives is the Lord (YHVH). Therefore, these passages are quite clear that YHVH is a reference to Yeshua/Jesus because "in the volume of the book it is written of me". Then, in Zechariah 14:9, the one who sets His feet down on the Mount of Olives (the Lord (YHVH) is the one who is KING in Zechariah 14:9. The Kingship of Yeshua/Jesus (YHVH) as stated in Zechariah 14:9 is repeated in Philippians 2:10-11. "That at the NAME of Jesus (Zechariah 14:9 ... in that day the Lord shall be one and His NAME shall be one) every knee should BOW (to the King of the Univers) of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth: and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD (In Hebrew this is YHVH) to the glory of God the Father" Once again, in Revelation 19:15-16, Yeshua/Jesus is KING of kings. The KING of kings is the Lord (YHVH). "And out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the wrath of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he has on his venture and on his thigh a name written, KING of kings and LORD (YHVH) of lords" In Exodus 3:13-15, it tells us that "I AM" is YHVH. " And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you: and they shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM (YHVH) and he said, Thus shall you say unto the children of Israel I AM (YHVH) has sent me unto you" YHVH comes from the Hebrew verb "to be". YHVH is the future tense of the verb "to be". YHVH is the Strong's word 3068. In the explanation of the meaning of the Hebrew word (YHVH) which is derived from the Hebrew word "to be" in the Gesenius Hebrew Lexicon paperback edition on page 337 it says: "To this origin, allusion is made (Exodus 3:14) to (YHVH) "I (ever) shall be (the same) that I am (today)". So, Gesinius tells us that (YHVH) meaning is "I (ever) shall be (the same) that I am (today)" Now consider Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever". The way this would be understood in Hebrew as explained by Genenius (Jesus Christ the (YHVH)). In Revelation 1:7-8: "Behold, he comes with clouds and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him (this is talking about Yeshua/Jesus) and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and Omega (in Hebrew the ALEPH and the TAV) says the Lord WHICH IS, and WHICH WAS and WHICH IS TO COME". He who "which is and which was and which is to come" is the Hebrew meaning of YHVH. The Lord (YHVH) who is and which was and which is to come is the one that was pierced. So, very clearly these scriptures are telling us that Yeshua/Jesus is YHVH. In John 8:58 Yeshua/Jesus says: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM (YHVH)" If you can grasp what I am explaining and that the scriptures show very clearly that Yeshua/Jesus is YHVH, you won't get Leviticus 23 confused concerning who is speaking. "And the Lord (YHVH) / Jesus spake unto Moses saying ... Concerning the Feasts of the Lord (YHVH) which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are MY FEASTS" Then it describes among others ... Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits. It wasn't God the Father who died on Passover and was in the ground on Unleavened Bread and was resurrected on First Fruits. It was Yeshua/Jesus. These are the feasts of the LORD (Yeshua/Jesus). HE kept the feasts because these are HIS feasts. So, shouldn't Christians keep the Feasts of Yeshua/Jesus when He said that these were HIS feasts? He has yet to fulfill the Fall Feast so they still are appropriate to be kept for today or Yeshua/Jesus couldn't fulfil the Fall Feasts at His second coming. So, we can see very clearly from these scriptures that the Bible describes Yeshua/Jesus as being YHVH and being King. God is one God. He is a compound unity (ECHAD). Why did he come down and become flesh? In Exodus 25:8-9, God said: "And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell with them". It is the desire and heart of God to dwell with His people. He did this when YHVH became flesh (we call him Yeshua/Jesus) because he desired to dwell with man. In Revelation 21:1-3, when God creates the new heaven and the new heaven, he will then "dwell with man". Consider Hebrews 2:8,13 "But unto the Son he says, Thy throne O God (the SON is called GOD), is forever and ever: a sceptor of righteousness is a sceptor of thy kingdom (Psalm 45:6-7) ... But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Psalm 110:1)" These scriptures tell us that Yeshua/Jesus has a heavenly throne. He is sitting on the heavenly mercy seat of God the Father in the Heavenly Holy of Holies. So, David, the Bible is VERY CLEAR that Yeshua/Jesus is God manifested in the flesh and to answer your question, Yeshua/Jesus is MESSIAH AND GOD !!! We have to be careful and BALANCED to understand that just because SOME of the practices in Christianity come from paganism that NOT ALL of what Christianity teaches is in error. All too often I have seen people who have embraced their Hebraic Roots and begin to be taught and understand Christianity replaced the Sunday with Sabbath and Christmas / Easter for the Biblical Holidays and all of a sudden become "anti-Chriistian" and begin to question and doubt ALL Christian teachings and begin to "throw out" some very fundamental doctrinal truths such as Yeshua/Jesus being God manifested in the flesh and HE is our SAVIOR. We must remember that it is only the BLOOD of a SINLESS Messiah who was/is God that saves us from our sins. Eddie Chumney