“The Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet, there are not three Gods, but one God”—Athanasian Creed
The statement quoted above is said to be the primary belief of most Christian groups. If this is true, then we should find some evidence of it throughout the Bible.
The 12 relatively short Bible Books called “the minor prophets”, from Hosea to Malachi, make many references to Almighty God “Yahweh”, but no references to Jesus Christ by name, and some references to God’s spirit, or the holy Spirit. There is one famous reference to Jesus, in a verse which predicts his birthplace, and mentions something very significant in doing so:
“But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2 NRSV).
Matthew 2:1-6 confirms that Micah 5:2 accurately predicts the birthplace of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. But Micah 5:2 also does something else very significant. It says that Jesus had an “origin”, a beginning,” not with his birth on earth, in the distant past. This scriptural fact overturns the key Trinitarian claim that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, has always been eternal. Jesus’ having an “origin” is powerful proof that he is not eternal. The Biblical fact that is Jesus is not eternal is further contrasted with this:
“Are you not from eternity, Yahweh my God? My Holy One, You will not die” (Habakkuk 1:12 HCSB). read more