ISAIAH 6: 1, 3, 5, 8, 11, 12 treats of Jehovah and our Lord Jesus as separate and distinct Beings. In verses 1, 8, 11 Jesus is referred to by the Hebrew word adonai, which in the King James Version, etc., is translated “Lord,” written with only an initial capital letter; whereas in verses 3, 5, 12 the Tetragrammaton, JHVH (Jehovah), is the Hebrew word, translated “LORD,” written in the KJV, RSV, etc., entirely in capitals. The fact that both JHVH and Adonai are used in Isaiah 6, the former to designate Jehovah and the latter to designate Jesus, proves that Jesus is not Jehovah. Jesus is Jehovah’s Vicegerent, His Agent, not Jehovah Himself.
Note, additionally, that Jesus is the Servant of Jehovah, not Jehovah Himself (Isaiah 42: 1); He is Jehovah’s Arm, Agent, not Jehovah Himself (Isaiah 53: 1); He Is Jehovah’s Son, not Jehovah Himself (Psalm 89: 27); He is Jehovah’s Angel, not Jehovah Himself (Genesis 22: 11); He is Jehovah’s Companion, not Jehovah Himself (Zechariah 13: 7).
Although Jesus is a very mighty one, who next to Jehovah is the mightiest of the gods (elohim), He is not the All-mighty God. Trinitarians appeal to Psalm 45: 6, 7 as a proof that God the Father calls Jesus the Almighty God. Christ is here addressed by Jehovah as a god, a very mighty one, who, however, as verse 7 shows, has Jehovah as His God, His Mighty One, the Almighty.
Jesus is not Jehovah, the Almighty
Most Trinitarians believe that Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ of the New Testament. However, the following Scriptures prove that Jehovah is God the Father of the New Testament and Jesus is the Son of Jehovah. Since the American Standard (or Revised) Version uses the name Jehovah in all its occurrences, and since this version is more accurate than the King James Version, we will quote from the ASV.
Along with the belief that Jesus is Jehovah is the idea that the Father is also Jehovah, and together with the Holy Spirit, these three are all Jehovah; but rather than this union forming three Gods, the strange combination results in only one God. Jehovah is one person and not three:
“Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” (Deuteronomy 6: 4). According to this verse Jehovah is one, not three.
In Acts 3: 22, 23 Peter quotes from Deuteronomy 18: 15, 19 and proves that Christ is the “prophet like unto Moses,” to indicate the distinction between Him and Jehovah. Jehovah Himself will not be the Prophet that is raised up; rather, it is Jehovah who will raise up someone else, like unto Moses, who will act as spokesman for Jehovah. The words this Prophet will speak will be the words that Jehovah will put into His mouth; He will speak what Jehovah commands.
Jesus Himself testified that He had come in the Father’s name (John 5: 43), and that He spoke the things that the Father had commanded Him to speak (John 12: 49, 50).
Jesus, the Anointed Son of Jehovah
Psalm 2: 2 mentions Jehovah’s Anointed, and the Apostle Peter applies that passage to Jesus (Acts 4: 25-27). Note the difference between Jehovah and His Anointed; the word “anointed” in Greek is “Christ.”
We have a direct statement that Jesus is the Son of Jehovah in Psalm 2: 7, and the Apostle Paul applied this verse to Jesus (Acts 13: 33).
In Psalm 16: 10 David refers to Jehovah and Jesus. On the day of Pentecost Peter applied this passage to Jesus (Acts 2: 25-31). The One whose soul was raised out of Sheol-Hades, the One who did not see corruption, was not Jehovah God, but Jesus, the Holy One of Jehovah (verse 31).
By comparing Psalm 22: 7, 8 with Matthew 27: 43, and Psalm 22: 18 with Matthew 27: 35, it is plain that the One crucified was the One that “trusted on Jehovah,” rather than Jehovah Himself.
Psalm 110: 4 is further proof that Jehovah and Jesus are not the same person. The “Thou” in this verse is Jesus because Jehovah cannot be His own Priest. In Hebrews Jesus is spoken of as the Priest of Jehovah (Hebrews 5: 5-10; 6: 20; 7: 21).
Several New Testament passages identify Jesus with the righteous Servant of Jehovah mentioned in Isaiah 53: (Matthew 8: 17) (Mark 15: 28) (Luke 22: 37) (Acts 8: 30-35).
According to Matthew 2: 5, 6 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in fulfillment of Micah 5: 2. Accordingly, Jehovah is the God of the One to be born in Bethlehem, who is to be ruler in Israel.
In Luke 4: 21 Jesus said that Isaiah 61: 1, 2 (Luke 4: 18, 19) was fulfilled in Him. The Father, who is Jehovah, anointed His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus not the Almighty in Isaiah Passages
Trinitarians refer to Isaiah 7: 14 and Matthew 1: 23 and claim that because the name there given to Jesus is Immanuel, meaning “God with us,” proves that Jesus is God. But Jesus’ being named Immanuel means, not that He is Jehovah, but that through Him Jehovah is with the human family, in His marvelous love that provided Jesus as the Ransom-price for salvation for all mankind (1 Timothy 2: 4-6).
Trinitarians point to Isaiah 9: 6, where in the King James Version Jesus is called “The mighty God, The everlasting Father.” The better translations do not use the article “the” before “mighty God” and “everlasting Father.” Instead, this refers to Jesus as being a very mighty god (elohim) under Jehovah, but not as mighty as Jehovah Himself, who alone is the All-mighty God.
Jesus’ title “everlasting Father” refers to Him as the Restorer, or Life-giver in the Millennial Age to those of mankind who have not had a full and complete opportunity for salvation in this life. But Jesus never claimed to be the Father. Rather He stated repeatedly that He is the Son, whom the Father sent.
Trinitarians use Isaiah 40: 3 to try to prove that Jesus is Jehovah. This prophecy is quoted in the New Testament (Matthew 3: 3) and applied to John the Baptist’s work of preparing the Jews to receive Christ. But Jesus came expressly to do the Father’s work (John 4: 34).
Isaiah 40: 10 is regarded by Trinitarians as sure proof that the Son is Jehovah. But notice here that the Father only is called Jehovah. Jesus is referred to as His Arm.
Trinitarians claim that in Isaiah 43: 10, 11, 13 the Logos (the prehuman Jesus) speaks here, but it is obvious that Jehovah is the speaker, as shown by the use of the Tetregrammaton (JHVH), indicated by LORD being in capital letters in the King James Version.
Accordingly, verse 10 refers plainly to Jehovah and His eternity, since He is the only God who has existed throughout the past eternity and who will exist throughout all future eternity (Psalm 90: 2).
Trinitarians mistakenly conclude that Jesus is the speaker in verse 11, and that He here states that He is both God and Savior, and, since only Jesus is the Redeemer and Savior, He is God like His Father. As already noted, the Logos is not the one here making the statement, nor is it correct to say that Jesus is the only Redeemer and Savior. In the ultimate sense, Jehovah is the Redeemer and Savior in that He is the Author of the great Plan of Salvation, and He provided His Son to be the Savior of all men. Abraham in taking his son Isaac up to Mt. Moriah to offer him there, pictured God in His love, offering His only begotten Son to be man’s Redeemer. But Abraham and Isaac were not the same person.
Trinitarians use verse 15 to prove that Jesus is God. They comment, “Since Jesus is the Creator, and the Bible says that God created everything, then Jesus is God, as is His Father.” Again, there is no mention here of the Logos, the prehuman Jesus. The text says the Jehovah is “the creator of Israel.” Yes, the Bible does say that God created all things (Revelation 4: 11; compare Genesis 1: 1; 2: 4), but we are told that “God created all things by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3: 9). All things are of the Father, and by the Son (1 Corinthians 8: 6).
Does the fact that one person delegates some functions to another person mean that the other person is the same person as himself? Of course not! In everyday conversation we may say, Mr. A. built a house, when actually he himself did not do any of the building, nor even lift a tool on it, but he did it through a builder. Surely his use of the builder would not make him the same person as the builder.
(to be continued)