Who wrote Hebrews? In thirteen New Testament letters, or epistles, Paul introduces himself as the writer. However, the writer of Hebrews is anonymous. Throughout most of Christian history, the apostle Paul was viewed as the writer of Hebrews. However, in the last couple of hundred years, this view has been dismissed by many of the “experts.” What are the facts? Did Paul write Hebrews?
“As early as the end of the second century the church of Alexandria in Egypt accepted Hebrews as a letter of Paul, and that became the commonly held view in the East. Pauline authorship was contested in the West in the fourth century, but then accepted. In the sixteenth century, doubts about that position were again raised, and the modern consensus is that the letter was not written by Paul. There is, however, no widespread agreement on any of the other suggested authors, e. g., Barnabus, Apollos, or Priscilla and Aquila. The document itself has no statement about its author”—Introduction to The Letter To The Hebrews, New American Bible (NAB)read more
In Paul’s final canonical letter, and now facing certain execution at the hands of the Romans, we would expect Paul to at least make some mention of the Trinity, if it was true, since it is purportedly the “primary doctrine of Christianity”.
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:1 NIV). There is no mention in this opening greeting of the holy Spirit. God, not Jesus, obviously is the one who is supreme, since Paul is “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God”. There is no mention, nor is there any evidence of, any personhood of holy Spirit, or any equality between God and Jesus.
“Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:2 NIV). In this verse, we again do not find any reference to a Trinity, nor of the holy spirit, but we do have “God the Father and Christ Jesus” named as separate and distinct individuals. If the holy spirit was a person, or the Trinity was real, we would expect that there would be greetings from them, but there are not any. These facts provide no evidence of the Trinity doctrine. “Guard this rich trust with the help of the holy Spirit that dwells within us” (2 Timothy 1:14NAB). “The holy Spirit” is referenced by the definite article “the.” The holy Spirit is real. It is God’s power (Luke 1:15-17; Acts 1:8) and no name is ever given to “the holy Spirit”, both of which are evidences that the holy Spirit is not a person.
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead” (2 Timothy 2:8 NIV). Since “God . . . will never die” (Habakkuk 1:12 NIV), but Jesus “was dead” (Revelation 1:18), Jesus cannot be Almighty God. “God has resurrected this Jesus” (Acts 2:32 HCSB), which is strong evidence that God the Father is superior to Jesus, and, thus, there is no equality.
“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead” (2 Timothy 4:1 NIV). Here we again see a clear distinction between Almighty God and Jesus Christ. This verse also reminds us that “the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22 NIV), which is powerful evidence of the Father’s superiority over the Son. Also notable by absence is any reference to the holy Spirit, or the Trinity, at 2 Timothy 4:1regarding the matter of judging. The Trinity is never mentioned, in 2 Timothy, or anywhere else, in the Bible.
The Letter of 2 Timothy gives us very good evidence that the Trinity doctrine is not only false, but is one of the “myths” that many Christians unfortunately were foretold would “turn aside to” (2 Timothy 4:4 NAB; NIV; NJB).read more
Jehovah’s Witnesses – “The Last of the Last Days”?
In recent times, the expression, “The Last of the Last Days,” has been used by a certain group. This can be seen from their website, www.jw.org. Since such an expression id not used in the Bible, where does it come from?
“Sin is not ended by multiplying words” (Proverbs 10:19 NIV)
“At the beginning their words are folly; at the end they are wicked madness—and fools multiply words” (Ecclesiastes 10:13,14 NIV)
Back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s Jehovah’s Witnesses were predicting that the year 1914 would be the end of the world, in direct contradiction to Jesus warning that no one knows the date of the end of the world (Matthew 24;36). Rather than repent of their false prophesy, they changed their story. However, “God’s firm foundation stands” (2 Timothy 2:19 ESV).read more
“Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. ” (1 John 4:1 NIV) Is the Trinity in James?
Is the Trinity in James? James’ short general letter to early Christians doesn’t have a plethora of references to God, Jesus, and the holy Spirit, but what it does have is more than enough to figure out whether the Trinity doctrine is in the book of James. First of all, notice who James is a servant of:
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1 NIV). James identifies himself as serving two distinct personages, namely Almighty God and Jesus Christ. These two are not mysteriously merged together, as Trinitarians assert. Their distinctive separateness is maintained. Notable by absence are references to the Trinity and the holy Spirit. If these are real, why isn’t James serving them?—Perhaps because the Trinity is fictional. He’s not serving the holy Spirit because it is not a person, even though it is real. “The holy Spirit” is called “it” at John 1:32 (ESV); 14:17 (NAB, REB), Acts 2:33; 8:16; 11:15 NAB, and Romans 8:16,26,27 (NAB;REB). Persons are not called “it”. The holy Spirit is God’s “power” (Acts 1:8), not a person.read more
Is the Trinity doctrine in the book of Colossians? Let’s examine all the verses in this Bible book where God and Jesus are mentioned in relation to each other. Also. let’s look for any references to the holy Spirit, which is said to be the third person of the Trinity. Then, let’s see whether what Bible says agrees with Trinitarianism, or proves it to be false. Notice all the references in this letter to the superior position of Almighty God toward his Son, Jesus Christ, and the subordinate position of Jesus Christ in relation to his heavenly Father.read more
2 Peter—Is Jesus Christ Almighty God, or Part of a Trinity?
Trinitarian bias influences translators to render the first verse of this short letter in a way that makes it appear as though Jesus is Almighty God. For example, “by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1 ESV). However, the verse is more accurately translated as:
“Through the justice of our God and of our savior Jesus the Anointed” (2 Peter 1:1 Hart)
“Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ: To those to whom there has been allotted the same precious faith as that which is ours through the righteousness of our God and of our Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1 Weymouth).
“Through the righteousness of our God and the savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1 NAB ftn).
“Through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus =&0=&
“Through the righteousness of our God and the Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1 NRSV ftn).
Almighty God and Jesus Christ are thus clearly presented as distinct and separate in these three accurate translations. Notice how this so in the very next verse:
“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2 NIV).
“We told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power . . . He received honor and glory from God the Father . . . saying ‘This is my Son” (2 Peter 1:16,17 NIV). Jesus “received honor and glory from God the Father”, and Jesus is called “my Son” by “God the Father”. You can’t receive something from yourself, and, by definition, “Son” and “Father” cannot be the same person.
“Human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God” (2 Peter 1:21 NAB). Trinitarians assert that the holy Spirit is a person. However, the definite article “the” is not the way a person is described. Without the holy Spirit being a person, the Trinity doctrine collapses.
In 2 Peter, where God and Jesus are mentioned together, they are clearly separate and distinct, which ‘demolishes’ the Trinity ‘stronghold’ (2 Corinthians 10:4 NIV).
Should we get baptized in behalf of dead loved ones?
“Otherwise, what will they do who are being baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?”—- 1 Corinthians 15:29 NKJV
Based on the scripture above, Mormonism, the LDS Church, teaches that its members have an obligation to research their genealogy and get baptized for any of their deceased relatives who were never baptized in the Mormon Church. The problem with this multifold, primarily:
(1) The scripture is not translated accurately above. It should be translated as: “However, people are baptized because the dead will come back to life. What will they do? If the dead can’t come back to life, why do people get baptized as if they can come back to life” (1 Corinthians 15:29 GWT). This verse makes the point that getting baptized makes no sense if there is no resurrection.read more
What does the New Testament tell us about genealogies?
The genealogies leading to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, are vitally important as supportive proofs of his being qualified as God’s Messiah (Matthew 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38). So we definitely do need them, and should pay attention to them. Other Biblical genealogies, while being important for historical purposes, so we should be aware of them, but, nevertheless, are not of great importance for Christians. Please see the other two articles on this site about genealogies.
Beyond what is mentioned above, Christians are warned:
“Stop teaching false doctrine and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These myths and genealogies raise a lot of questions rather than focusing on God’s plan, which centers in faith” (1 Timothy 1:3,4 GWT).
“Avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless” (Titus 3:9 NIV)
Apparently some first century Christians were indulging in unscriptural “controversial speculations” (NIV) that included “endless genealogies” (NIV), and “arguments and quarrels”. So Christians today can take this as a warning against doing the same things. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t study, discuss, and examine, different interpretations of the scriptures. The warning is actually against “genealogies”, petty quarrels and “speculations,” that “go beyond what is written in Scripture” (1 Corinthians 4:6 GWT). We should engage in fruitful, productive, discussions of the Bible that lead to wisdom (Acts 17:11; Proverbs 17:17).
Differences in Hebrew & Greek Genealogies of Genesis 5 & 11
There are some significant differences between the Hebrew and Greek genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11. Do these differences really matter?
“I want you understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return”—Philippians 1:9 NLT
The Bibles that we use today are generally based on a Hebrew Refined Master Text, usually the Biblica Hebraica. A comparison of the genealogies in Genesis 5:1-32 and Genesis 11:10-26 in the Old Testament in our modern Bibles, which are translated from the Hebrew Text, with the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX), reveals that the Greek version has more years between the time of Adam’s creation and Abraham, because: (1) The listed mens’ ages when their son is born are generally higher, often by 100 years; and (2) Cainan is included in the Greek Septuagint text, but not in the Hebrew text. However, the overall length of their lives remains the same, in the both the Hebrew and the Greek texts.
Below are listed the names of the men in the genealogies of Genesis 5and 11, where the Hebrew and the Greek texts differ, and the ages at the birth of their son, first in the Hebrew, next in the Greek, and then the differences in these two ages.
Some people today, including some who claim to be Christians, such as the Mormons, place much importance on genealogies. The Hebrew people recorded public genealogical records that document history, establish identity, and/or legitimate office. Family tradition, marriage, links to the past, inheritance and property rights were all important to them, as they are to people today (Deuteronomy 25:5-10; 1 Chronicles 1-9; Ezra 10:18-43). The key to legitimacy and identity is a direct irrefutable familial tie with the past. Bible and other genealogies may go backward in time from the present (1 Chronicles 6:31-33; Ezra 7:1-5; Luke 3:23-38), or forward in time from a certain point in the past (Genesis 5:1-32; 11:10-32; Ruth 4:18-23; Matthew 1:1-17). These two types of genealogies can be combined, as they are in Matthew 1:1-17. Additionally, genealogical rolls may either contain a simple succession of names or may be supplemented with expansive content pertaining to the activities of certain prominent individuals on the list.
Genealogies are prominent in both the early and late history of the Hebrews, and others. In the book of Genesis there are ten primary genealogical lists. One important thing is that these document the line leading to the Messiah, although Genesis itself does not tip the reader off to this purpose. For historical purposes, the lineagies of non-Yahweh worshippers, such as Cain (Genesis 4:17-26), Ishmael (Genesis 25:12-18), and Esau (Genesis 36) are also documented.
Genealogies were very important credentials to the Hebrew people. Abraham’s descendants through Isaac and Jacob were promised special blessings from Almighty God, which were guaranteed if they obeyed the conditions of God’s covenant with them (Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:3-8; Deuteronomy 11:22-28). However, if they could not prove they had descended from Abraham, they were not considered true Jews and were excluded from full participation in Jewish community life. So, a lost genealogy put one’s status as a Jew at risk. In addition, some privileges were restricted to members of certain tribes. For example, only descendents of Levi (Abraham’s great-grandson) could serve at the Temple. All this is well illustrated in the case of some returnees from the Babylonian exile, who could not prove their descent, “they searched for their names in the genealogical records, but they were not found, so [the result was that] they were disqualified” (Ezra 2:59-63 NLT).
Do we today need to be concerned about our genealogy? No! However, if someone wants to check their (or someone else’s) genealogical ancestry, there is nothing wrong with that. But being obsessed with it, making it a matter of faith, or spending excessive time with it, goes against Biblical counsel. Notice:
“Command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work — which is by faith”—1 =&0=&
“But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, =&1=&
When we view matters in the light of Bible principles, making Bible and other genealogies to to be important issues of faith, or consuming inordinate amounts of time runs contrary to Bible principles.
In recent times, the expression, “The Last of the Last Days,” has been used by a certain group. This can be seen from their website, www.jw.org. Since such an expression id not used in the Bible, where does it come from?
There are some significant differences between the Hebrew and Greek genealogies of