Bible Knowledge Solves Trinity Enigma
There is no doubt that Almighty God, the God of the Bible exists! But what is he like? Jesus said, “God is a spirit” (John 4:24 ESV). But what exactly is the spirit called God? The Trinity doctrine is usually presented as the main explanation of God, and is widely believed to be true because it is said to be in the Bible. But, even its most scholarly adherents and proponents admit they don’t really understand it, calling it a “mystery”. Can Bible knowledge solve the Trinity mystery?
Is Jesus Christ Equal To God?
Is Jesus Christ equal to God? Based on the following scripture, and what they have heard, or been told, many people think so.
“For this reason the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the sabbath, but was also calling God his own Father, thereby making himself equal to God” (John 5:19 NRSV).
If we look at this scripture closely, and think about it logically, there are three serious problems with the claim that Jesus made himself equal with God, and so he must be God..
Seventy Weeks Prophecy of Daniel — Jesus and History
Daniel, through divine inspiration, accurately dated the coming of Christ 550 years in advance with the prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks”.
Critics and skeptics of the Bible claim that Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:24-27) was written during the 160’s BCE, rather than the Biblically historically accurate date of “the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede” (Daniel 9:1 NLT) [539-538 BCE], and assert that the prophecy does not predict anything about the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The oldest extant manuscript of anything in Daniel 9:24-27 is the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscript 11Q13, dated to circa 100 BCE, which partially quotes Daniel 9:25, “until an anointed one, a prince”. This fact alone that that manuscript predates Jesus’ baptism by about 125 years, is powerful evidence of its prophetic accuracy. (For more facts and information about dating the entire book of Daniel, please see the article, “When Was the Book of Daniel Written?”, on this website). In the meantime, however, this present article investigates the Biblical and historical facts relating to the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:24-27, and its fulfillment.
Is Karma True?
The belief of Karma originated way back in antiquity in India, and, with variations, is held by the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Karma is also popularly believed in the Western world, and some even assert that Karma is a Biblical belief. What we need to know, then, is Karma true? The article on this website entitled, “Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?”, discusses many aspects and ideas of Karma in the light of what the Bible says, so we won’t repeat all that here, but please reference what the article sasy about it. We will, however, further discuss other aspects of Karma in the light of the scriptures in this article.
The Triune God
The image above represents the views of the vast majority of Christian denominations, organizations and groups. The quotes below indicate how much belief in the Triune God is considered to be orthodox, or normal, for Christians.
“God is triune; there are within the Godhead three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”—J J Packer
“The Holy Spirit, part of the Triune God Himself, lives in the hearts of each person who believes in the gospel of Jesus Christ—Billy Graham
“We meet the triune God as he gives himself to us in the
history of salvation, as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”—Fred Sanders
Can Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Be God’s Servant?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is said by many to be Almighty God, “God the Son,” the second person of the Trinity. However, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is mentioned in the Bible as being God’s “servant.” In view of the claims that Jesus is Almighty God, how can he be God’s servant? First, let’s look at some of the claims about him:
“Peter’s sermon identifies Jesus with the ‘I Am’ of Israel’s history”—The Word In Life Study Bible, page 1928, citing Acts 3:11-26 as “proof.”
Who Wrote the Book of Zechariah, and When?
Who wrote the book of Zechariah? And When was it written? Before the sixteenth century, the writership of the book of Zechariah was unanimously believed to have been written by “the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo,” beginning “in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius” king of Persia, in 520 BCE (Zechariah 1:1 ESV).
Theories of Different Writers
So, who wrote the book of Zechariah? And when was it written? Let’s look at some of the viewpoints about this.
Is the Trinity in the Book of Deuteronomy?
Is the Trinity in Deuteronomy?
“Within the one Being that is God, there exists eternally three coequal and coeternal persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”—The Forgotten Trinity, page 23, by James R. White
“We hang a person’s very salvation upon the acceptance of the doctrine”—The Forgotten Trinity, page 10
Deuteronomy is the final division of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, written by Moses. Originally it was on one scroll in ancient Hebrew, which did not have vowels. When the Torah was translated in the 3rd century BCE into Greek, which has vowels, it was divided into five books – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy reviews God dealings with Israel, and reviews and restates the Mosaic Law Covenant, which is ratified prior to Israel’s entry into the Promised Land.
Is the Trinity in the Book of Isaiah?
“A cornerstone belief of the Christian faith, the doctrine of the Trinity . . . What is the doctrine of the Trinity? . . . There is only one God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal, coequal Persons where each Person is independently conscious and self-directing but never acting independently of one another and always manifesting the same character attributes and the same nature. Where in the Bible is the Trinity taught? . . . It is taught in 25 of the 27 books of the New Testament and in 13 of the 39 books of the Old Testament”—“Does the Book of Isaiah Teach the Trinity?”, Reasons to Believe (RTB) blogsite, by Hugh Ross, July 20, 2020