“A true and accurate knowledge of the Trinity is a blessing in and of itself . . . the Trinity is the highest revelation God has made of himself to His people. It is the capstone, the summit, the brightest star in the firmament of divine truths”—The Forgotten Trinity, page 10
“The Gospel according to Matthew . . . no otherwas so frequently quoted in the noncanonical literature of earliest Christianity”—Preface to Matthew in the New American Bible (NAB)read more
Does God change his mind? Skeptics and critics have claimed the Bible contradicts itself on this matter.
Alleged contradiction:
Does God change his mind? (a) Yes. “The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I repent that I have made Saul King…” (I Samuel 15:11) (b) No. God “will not lie or repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent” (I Samuel 15:29) (c) Yes. “And the Lord repented that he had made Saul King over Israel” (I Samuel 15:35). Notice that the above three quotes are all from the same chapter of the same book! In addition, the Bible shows that God repented on several other occasions: i. “The Lord was sorry that he made man” (Genesis 6:6) “I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:7) ii. “And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people” (Exodus 32:14). iii. (Lots of other such references).read more
God’s name is often written as “the LORD” in most Bible translations. Some translations use “Jehovah” for God’s name. However, Lord is not a name but a title. “One of the titles for God is Lord, a translation of Adonai. There is yet another name for which is particularly assigned to God as His special or proper name, that is, the four letters YHWH (Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 42:8)” [NASB, Principles of Translation).
“Indeed, there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father” (1 Corinthians 8:5,6 NASB). In the Old Testament, or Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures, God’s name is Yahweh. “I am Yahweh, that is my name!” (Isaiah 42:8 NJB). The name Yahweh appears some 6,800 times in the manuscripts of the Old Testament, or Hebrew-Aramaic Scriptures. Yet, “this name has not been pronounced by Jews because of reverence for the great sacredness of the divine name. Therefore it has been consistently translated as LORD. The only exception . . . is when it occurs in immediate proximity to the word Lord, that is, Adonai. In that case it is regularly translated GOD to avoid confusion” [Ibed.]. Of course, there would be no worry about such “confusion,” if YHWH were translated accurately as Yahweh.read more
Restoration is through Jesus Christ, not modern fleshly Israel, but to the “Israel of God,” and would come first to Jews, then all others would be blessed.
“Certainly, it doesn’t matter a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation. Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God”—Galatians 6:15,16 GWT
What is, “the Israel of God”?
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile”—Romans 1:16 NIV
“A person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God”—Romans 2:28,29 NIV
The New Testament makes clear that whether a person is a fleshly Jew or not, no longer makes any difference to God.
Let’s examine some Old Testament prophecies concerning the restoration of “Israel” through God’s “servant David”, a cryptic name for Jesus.
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