Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Acts 3:15 - Is the Prince of Life the Almighty Creator?
Acts 3:15 -- You killed the author of life, the very one whom God raised from the dead. We are witnesses of this. -- Common English Bible.
Acts 3:15 (CSB) And you killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. -- Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Some offer Acts 3:15 as a proof of the trinity. It has been claimed that Jesus is the Creator of the universe and thus this is alleged to prove that Jesus is God Almighty, and therefore one of the person of the alleged triune God. Evidently, the phrase "Prince of Life" is being assumed to mean the absolute source of all life, and thus that this would mean that Jesus is God who created the universe.
The word rendered "prince" above is a compound word that roughly means chief or first leader. It can refer to the chief source. It is used again in Acts 5:31 regarding how the one person who is God exalted Jesus. It is used again in Hebrews 2:10, designating Jesus as the first, the pioneer or chief over salvation. It is also used in Hebrews 12:2 in reference to Jesus as being the pioneer and perfecter of the faith of those who belong to Christ. In none of these instances, however, does the usage of this word of Jesus designate Jesus as being his God, Jehovah, or as being a person of his God, Jehovah.
We should note that throughout Acts 3, the word "God" refers to only one person, and Jesus is distinguished from being "God". Indeed, even in Acts 3:15, "God" is referring to only one person. Peter identified Jesus, not as being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but as being the servant whom Jehovah raised up as the prophet like Moses. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:13-26.
Furthermore, there is no indication that those Jews to whom Peter spoke thought that Peter was speaking of God Almighty. God Almighty does not die! Yet Peter said that the Jews had killed Jesus. Did those Jews kill God Almighty, who does not die? Thus, it would be implausible to think that Peter would be telling the Jews to whom he was speaking that they had killed God Almighty!
Jesus, however, was the first man to live his life in full obedience to God. As such he was the pioneer in bringing life and incorruptibility to light. (1 Timothy 1:10) Since Jesus proved his faithfulness and has been highly exalted by his God, Jehovah (Micah 5:4; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; Philippians 2:8,9), and since God has given to Jesus the authority and power to give life to others, then Jesus became the source of life for redeemed mankind -- he became the life-giving spirit. -- Matthew 28:19; John 5:19-21,25; 11:25; 14:6; 17:2; 20:31; Romans 5:12-19,21; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22,45; 1 Peter 3:19; 1 John 4:9.
Jesus' being God's instrument in salvation, of course, does not remove Jesus' God (Micah 5:4: Ephesians 1:3) from being the ultimate source of all life. (1 Timothy 6:13; 1 John 5:11) It was Jesus' God, Jehovah (Micah 5:4), the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Acts 3:13), who raised Jesus from the dead, as reported not only in Acts 3:15, but also in Acts 2:24,32,26; 4:10; 10:40; 13:30,33,37; 17:31; Romans 4:24; 8:11; 10:9; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 15:15; Galatians 1:1; Colossians 2:11,12; 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10; 1 Peter 1:21; 3:18; see also Hebrews 5:7.
As is true with all the scriptures trinitarians present as being alleged proof of their trinity doctrine, there is nothing that says that God Almighty is more than one person, or that He is three persons. There is nothing in Acts 3 that means that we need to imagine and assume that God is more than one person and that Jesus is a person of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc.
Sunday, November 20, 2022
Exodus 29:45,46 - Did Jehovah Say He Would Become a Man?
Exodus 29:46 - And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Jehovah their God.
Exodus 29:45,46 has been presented as proof that supposedly Jehovah (Yahweh) had promised to come to earth and live among his people. Evidently, the thought is that Jesus is "Jehovah" who is speaking in these verses, and thus that Jehovah Jesus came to earth to dwell among Israel in the first century. This is being imagined and assumed in order to support the trinitarian concept that Jehovah (Yahweh) is three persons, and that Jesus is a person of Jehovah.
We definitely find nothing in Exodus 29 that presents Jehovah as being more than one person, or that the promised Messiah would be a person of Jehovah. There is definitely nothing in Exodus 29:45,46 that says that Jehovah will become a human being with a glory lower than the angels. -- Psalm 8:4,5; Hebrews 2:7,9.
Additionally, there is definitely nothing in these verses that warrant any conclusion that "Jehovah" here is not the same one person who is Jehovah in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. Jehovah, instead of saying that He will come and live on the earth as man, said that he would raise up a prophet like Moses. Peter identifies Jesus, not as being Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but as being the one whom Jehovah raised up to be a prophet like Moses. (Acts 3:13-26) The default reasoning is that Jehovah in Exodus 29 is the same one person who is the Messiah's God in Isaiah 61:1,2 and Micah 5:4.
How did Jehovah dwell among the children of Israel? The earlier verses tell us:
Exodus 29:41 - And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meal-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, for a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.
Exodus 29:42 - It shall be a continual burnt-offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before Jehovah, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee.
Exodus 29:43 - And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tent shall be sanctified by my glory. -- See also Exodus 25:22.
From this, we can see that Jehovah was speaking of meeting with his people in the tent. He did not become flesh in order to meet with the children of Israel in the tent,
Benson:
I will dwell among the children of Israel — As a proof of this the Shechinah, or symbol of his peculiar presence was among them. I will be their God — I will watch over them as a nation, by a peculiar providence, and show myself to be, indeed, that all-powerful and merciful God who delivered them in so miraculous a manner from Egyptian bondage.
Gill:
And I will dwell among the children of Israel,.... In the tabernacle ordered to be built for him, and which, when built, was placed in the midst of the camp of Israel; and here Jehovah dwelt as a king in his palace, near at hand to help, protect, and defend his subjects, and supply them with all things needful for them; see Deuteronomy 4:7.
Indeed, we haven't found any published Biblical commentator that claims that Exodus 29:45,46 is speaking of Jehovah becoming flesh and living upon the earth. To imagine and assume such would be a gross misuse of scripture.
References:
(We do not necessarily agree with all statements given by these authors)
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Benson's Commentary on Exodus 29
Gill's Exposition on Exodus 29
Related Studies:
The Tabernacle (Herald, November/December, 2002)
Three Days Journey (Daniel Kaleta)
The Sanctuary (David Stein)
God's Dwelling Place
Exodus, by Brother Frank Shallieu
Sunday, October 30, 2022
For Jehovah Comes
No scripture citation is given, and we have not found any scripture that says the above. This may appear in some translation, but so far, we have not found it, so we are left to guess as to what scripture, if any, is being referred to.
Evidently, this is presented with the assumption that if Jehovah "has come", that it must be referring to Jesus who came to earth. In other words, it is being imagined, assumed, added to and read into what is written that Jesus is Jehovah (Yahweh), since it was Jesus who came to the earth. The fact is that it was Jehovah, whom Jesus is depicted as referring to as "our God", who sent Jesus to the earth. -- Isaiah 61:1,2; Galatians 4:4; 1 John 4:9.
Nevertheless, Jehovah (Yahweh) came to deliver His people, the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. (Exodus 3:8) He did this through Moses and Aaron. --- Exodus 3:10; Numbers 33:1; Psalm 77:20; Acts 7:35,36.
Jehovah (Yahweh) later came to examine and bless His people. -- Exodus 20:20,24.
The time is yet future when Jehovah (Yahweh) comes to judge the world. (Psalm 96:13; 98:9) Jehovah is depicted as only one person in Acts 17:22-30. Acts 17:31 reveals that Jehovah comes to judge by means of one who is not Himself, but the one whom He has appointed to judge. John 5:22,27,29,30 reveals that Jesus is the one who acts as Jehovah's agent in judging.
The person further stated: "Let the whole earth rejoice in our God and Redeemer." Again, no scripture citation is given, and we have not been able to ascertain what scripture (if any) is being referred to. The nearest we could find is:
Psalms 96:11 - Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;
Psalms 96:12 - Let the field exult, and all that is therein; Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy
Psalms 96:13 - Before Jehovah; for he cometh, For he cometh to judge the earth: He will judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with his truth. -- American Standard Version.
The earth today still is under the blinding deceptions of Satan. (2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Revelations 12:9; Romans 8:20) The world is still under the subjection to sun of vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2,13,14; 2:11), groaning under its bondage of corruption (Romans 8:21,22). Today, only through Christ can one become a son of God who is not under this bondage. (Romans 8:14,15) These can rejoice in hope (Romans 5:2), but even with this rejoicing there is still a groaning, as these sons of God while in this age still need to be delivered from their present body which is yet to be dissolved. -- Romans 8:23-25; 2 Corinthians 5:1.
When God comes to judge the world by means of his Son, however, the veil now over the nations will be destroyed (Isaiah 26:7; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; Revelation 20:3), and all nations will be able to learn the righteous ways of Jehovah and rejoice in the healing of that time. -- Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:9; 26:9; Revelation 22:2.
Nothing, however, in any of this calls for us to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scriptures that Jesus is Jehovah, especially since Jehovah is shown to be the God of the Messiah. -- Micah 5:4; Ephesians 1:3.
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
John 16:13 - Gender of the Holy Spirit
John 16:7
all egw teen aleetheian legw humin sumpherei
BUT I THE TRUTH AM SAYING TO YOU, IT IS BEARING TOGETHER
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humin hina egw apelthw ean gar mee
TO YOU IN ORDER THAT I SHOULD GO OFF. IF EVER FOR NOT
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apelthw ho parakleetos ou mee elthee pros
I SHOULD GO OFF, THE PARACLETE NOT NOT WOULD COME TOWARD
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humas ean de poreuthw pempsw auton pros
YOU; IF EVER BUT I SHOULD GO, I SHALL SEND HIM TOWARD
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humas
YOU.
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John 16:13
hotan de elthee ekeinos to pneuma tees
WHENEVER BUT SHOULD COME THAT (ONE), THE SPIRIT OF THE
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aleetheias hodeegeesei humas eis teen aleetheian pasan
TRUTH, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO THE TRUTH ALL,
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ou gar laleesei aph heautou all hosa
NOT FOR HE WILL SPEAK FROM HIMSELF, BUT AS MANY (THINGS) AS
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akouei laleesei kai ta erchomena
HE IS HEARING HE WILL SPEAK, AND THE (THINGS) COMING
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anaggelei humin
HE WILL ANNOUNCE UP TO YOU.
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John 16:14
ekeinos eme doxasei hoti ek tou emou
THAT (ONE) ME WILL GLORIFY, BECAUSE OUT OF THE (THING) MINE
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leempsetai kai anaggelei humin
HE WILL RECEIVE AND HE WILL DECLARE TO YOU.
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John 16:13 is one of the scriptures often cited as proof that God's Holy Spirit is a person, since it claimed that John spoke of the Holy Spirit as "He" and "him", etc. John, however, wrote in the Biblical Koine Greek, and not English. In Biblical Greek, nouns that may apply to things that are not persons are most often given some form of gender, whether masculine, feminine or neuter. The fact that a noun may be given a male or female genders, doesn't necessarily mean that the noun is being applied to a person. Adjectives and pronouns related to those nouns are also usually given gender according to the gender attributed to the noun being used. Unlike in English, however, the gender does not actually express whether the noun is either a male, a female, or it, etc. An inanimate object may be given a masculine or feminine gender. The Greek word transliterated as pnuema, meaning spirit, is neuter in gender, which means that the adjectives and pronouns related to pnuema would be neuter in gender, that is, "it". Many translators, however, based on their preconceived belief that God's holy spirit is a person of God, have expressed God's Holy Spirit as "he", "him", "who", "whom" rather than "it" "that" or "which" in many verses throughout the New Testament, even though the Greek is neuter, not masculine. Trinitarian scholars make the claim: "the masculine pronoun EKEINOS is used in John 14,26 and 16,13-14 to refer to the neuter noun PNEUMA to emphasize the personality of the Holy Spirit." This claim, however, is a not inherent in the Greek grammar, but is based on the concept that God's Holy Spirit is a person.
The corresponding word for "spirit" in Hebrew, often transliterated as Ruach, is feminine in gender, and thus all words connected with its usage are also feminine in gender, that is, "she", "her", etc. Biblical Hebrew has no neuter form; everything -- even if it is a non-living object -- is spoken of as either masculine or feminine. In Latin, the corresponding word, "spiritus", is masculine gender, and therefore all words connected with its usage are also usually masculine in gender. One should notice that, unlike English, such usage of gender does not designate whether the spirit is either a male, female, or an inanimate object).
Nevertheless, in John 16:13, the usage is different, since pnuema is used as associated with another word, the word that is usually transliterated as "Parakletos" (John 16:7). Parakletos (https://biblehub.com/greek/3875.htm) is not neuter in gender, but is masculine, and thus it would, in Koine Greek, be accompanied by the masculine forms of adjectives, pronouns and verbs. As the Parakletos (Comforter), then, in Koine Greek, the spirit of truth is accompanied by masculine forms of adjectives, verbs, etc. The most logical reasoning should be that the spirit of truth in John 16:13 is being personified as the parakletos of verse 7. This does not designate the Parakletos as being a male person.
Nevertheless, in 1 John 4:6, the spirit of truth is contrasted with the spirit of error. If we should think of the spirit of truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13) is a person, then, correspondingly, if we are consistent in our reasoning, we should also think that the "spirit of error" is also a person. In reality, "the spirit of truth", although it may be personified, it is not a person, just the same as the "spirit of error" is not a person.
Thus, the English words he, him, himself, used in referring to the spirit of truth as the parakletos, might with equal propriety be translated she, her, herself, or it, itself. In the King James Version, we find that Heautou is rendered "himself" in John 16:13; however, in Matthew 6:34, where this word is feminine in the Greek, the King James Version renders it as "itself" rather than "herself". Ekienos, rendered "he" in many translations in John 16:3, is often rendered as "that" or "those" in the KJV, as well as in most other translations.
Although the spirit of truth may be viewed as being personified in John 16, such usage does not designate the spirit of truth as being a person. And even if it did, it would not mean that God's Holy Spirit is a person of God, or that God's Holy Spirit is a member of a triune God consisting of three persons, all of whom are alleged individually to be wholly and fully the one true God. Actually, there is nothing in any of this that gives reason to imagine and assume that God's Holy Spirit is a person of God, as trinitarians have assumed. No such thought is ever presented in the Bible anywhere.
References:
Koine Greek: Gender as Classification
Your Guide to Gender in Greek Grammar
Friday, September 9, 2022
Psalm 83:18 - Is Jesus the Most High?
Psalms 83:18 - That they may know that thou alone, whose name is Jehovah, Art the Most High over all the earth.-- American Standard Version.
It is being claimed that "Jehovah" in this verse is Jesus. Mormons believe that throughout the Old Testament that "Jehovah" is always Jesus, and "Jehovah" is never the Father of Jesus. We still have not found any good explanation of how they apply this assertion in Psalm 83:18, and many other scriptures where it is obvious that Jehovah is not Jesus. Jehovah is certainly shown to be the God of the Messiah in Micah 5:4, as well as Isaiah 61:1,2 (Compare with John 17:1,3; Ephesians 1:3). The default reasoning should be that Jesus is not his God, Jehovah.
Some trinitarians claim that "Jehovah" is Jesus in Psalm 83:18. Evidently what they would read into this verse is that Jehovah is three persons and that this verse "Jehovah" refers to their alleged "second person" of Jehovah, which they believe to be Jesus. They often incorrectly apply many scriptures which they claim confirm their trinitarian assertions, many of which we have already examined elsewhere.
Some oneness believers have also asserted that in Psalm 83:18, that this is Jesus, which according to them, Jesus is the God and Father of Jesus and that Jesus is the Holy Spirit of the Father.
Most of the scriptures wrongly thought to apply the name Jehovah to Jesus have already been examined on our websites.
Mormons claim that Jesus never spoke of Jehovah as his Father. Actually, Jehovah of Isaiah 61:1,2, whom Jesus is prophetically depicted as referring to as "our God", is definitely the one whom Jesus addresses as "Father" in John 17:1, and whom he says is the "only true God" who sent him in John 17:3. Additionally, the testimony of Gabriel recorded in Luke 1:32 corresponds to Isaiah 9:7, distinguishing the Lord Jehovah -- the Most High -- from the one to whom the Lord Jehovah gives the throne of David. Jesus is the Son of the Most High as Gabriel stated; Jesus is not the Most High Jehovah of whom he is the Son.
Additionally, it is foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 that the Messiah was to come in the name of Jehovah. Peter distinguishes Jehovah from Jesus in his application of this as recorded in Acts 3:13-26. This is reiterated in Psalm 118:16. Jesus applied this to himself as recorded in Matthew 23:39. Jesus said, in effect, that he did not come in his own name, but rather in the name of his Father who had sent him. (John 5:4,30,36,37) Isaiah 61:1,2 shows that it was the Lord Jehovah whom Jesus said is "our God" who sent him.
We further find that in the Bible, Jesus is the savior of the world whom the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent. (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Isaiah 61:1; Acts 3:13-26; John 3:17; 17:3; 1 John 4:9.10) Likewise, as Jehovah sent many saviors to Israel to deliver Israel (Nehemiah 9:27; Judges 2:16; 3:9-15; 6:13,14; 7:7; 8:22; 13:5; 2 Kings 13:5, 2 Samuel 3:18), so also Jehovah sent His Son to deliver us from sin. We have no scriptural reason to imagine and assume that the fact that Jehovah sent His Son to save us from sin would mean that Jesus is Jehovah.
Genesis 3:8 - Was It Really Jesus Whom Adam Heard?
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Genesis 3:8
And they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God amongst the trees of the garden. -- American Standard Version.
And they hear the sound of Jehovah God walking up and down in the garden at the breeze of the day, and the man and his wife hide themselves from the face of Jehovah God in the midst of the trees of the garden. -- Young's Literal.
And they heard the voice of Jehovah Elohim, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah Elohim, in the midst of the trees of the garden. -- Darby Translation
They heard the sound of Jehovah God approaching in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God among the trees of the garden. -- Restoration Light Improved Version.
As can be seen, the Hebrew words are given several different meanings in different translations. Not many of the Protestant commentators see Jesus in this verse.
BDB gives the meaning of the Hebrew word often transliterated as "qol" (Strong's H963) as sound, voice. BDB gives the meaning of the Hebrew word (often transliterated as "halak", Strong's H1980) rendered as "walking" as "go, come, walk". Obviously, the rendering of the word as "voice" would not agree with the idea of "walking". Have you ever heard a voice walk? A voice could be heard as coming or approaching, but a voice itself does not walk. If the word "voice: is used to render "qol", the word "halak" would best be rendered as coming, or proceeding. If "qol" should be rendered as "sound", the Hebrew word "halak" could be understood as walking, coming, going, etc.
The scripture, actually says nothing about Adam and Eve seeing Jehovah, although they evidently realized his presence (Strong's #6440, panim or paneh, literally meaning face, but often used to signify presence). Nevertheless, even if they had seen some manifestation of Jehovah, it would have been one of the "various ways" spoken of in Hebrews 1:2. He could have appeared by means of one of his angels, or even by means of his firstborn son (Colossians 1:15), but this does not mean that we need to imagine and assume that Jesus is a person of his God, etc.
The fact is that Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 3:14,15) is nowhere in the Bible presented as being more than one person. Jehovah is presented as only one person in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and is distinguished from being Jesus, who is the prophet like Moses that the one person who is Jehovah promised to raise up among the children of Israel. Peter makes this plain by his words as recorded n Acts 3:13-26. Micah 5:4 tells us that the promised Messiah was to stand and feed the sheep in the name and strength of his God, Jehovah. The default reasoning should not be to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scriptures that Jehovah is more than one person that the God of the Messiah is only the first person of Jehovah, etc., but rather that Jesus is not Jehovah his God.
See also our study: Jesus is Not Jehovah (Yahweh)
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Exodus 23:20,21,25 - God's Angel Before Israel
Exodus 23:20 - "Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared." -- World English.
This scripture is being presented by some trinitarians as supposedly a reference to their added-on trinity dogma. One claims, "Though the word 'Trinity' is never found in the pages of Scripture, It is a doctrine that is taught throughout the Scripture, both in the Tanakh and in the New Testament." In reality, Jehovah is presented as only one person throughout the Bible, and one cannot find the trinity doctrinal concept presented even once anywhere in the Bible. One has to created many trinitarian assumptions and then add those assumptions to, and read those assumptions into, any and every scripture presented that is claimed to be speaking of the added-on trinitarian concept.
It is the one person who is Jehovah who sent the angel to guide Israel. The default reasoning is that the angel whom Jehovah sent is not Jehovah who sent him. There is nothing in the verse that says that Jehovah is more than one person. Indeed, it is Jehovah who is speaking, who says he sent this angel; thus the default reasoning should be that this angel is not Jehovah Himself. Any thought that this angel is one of three persons, all of whom are Jehovah, has to be assumed beyond what is stated, added to what is stated, and read into what is stated.
Some combine this scripture with Malachi 3:1, where Jesus is referred to as the angel of the covenant, and in some vague manner apply the word "before" in that verse with the word "before" in Exodus 23:20, and evidently reason that this is proof that the angel in Exodus 23:20 is the Messiah, Jesus. In reality, the application of Malachi 3:1 is totally different from the application in Exodus 23:20. The combining of two scriptures in this manner is not "rightly dividing the word of truth." -- 2 Timothy 2:15, King James Version.
Many Bible Students, however, do believe that this angel was Jesus, as the prehuman Logos, the Son of God. The reality is, however, that no scripture actually presents Jesus as being one of Jehovah's angels. Nevertheless, if this angel was the prehuman son of Jehovah, this would still not mean that we need to imagine and assume that the verse is speaking of any alleged second person of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as many trinitarian advocates claim.
Exodus 23:21 - Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Don't provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.
Jehovah's name -- authority from Jehovah -- was in the angel since Jehovah sent this angel and the angel did the work that Jehovah gave him to do. Jehovah directs the children of Israel to heed what the angel says, for what the angel says is what Jehovah Himself is directing the angel to say. (Exodus 23:21,22) Jehovah again refers to this angel as "my angel" in verse 23, again showing that the angel is not Jehovah Himself, but an angel whom Jehovah sent.
Some claim, based on what is said in Exodus 23:21, that this angel has the authority to pardon transgression, and evidently this is supposed to mean that the angel must be Jehovah, and therefore a person of Jehovah. Actually, what is said in Exodus 23:21 is that this angel "will not pardon your disobedience." It does not say that the angel has been given authority to pardon anyone. Nevertheless, the angel could have been given authority to pardon transgressions; his being given any such authority does not mean that we need to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that this angel is Jehovah, and further imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that God is more than one person, etc. Any authority the angel had is in fact that which was given to him and was not inherent to his being.
John 17:11
Some try to tie Exodus 23:20,21 with John 17:11, which they evidently read as saying that Jesus made the claim that God's name was given to Jesus. What Jesus actually prayed for was that Jehovah would keep his followers (whom/whoever Jehovah had given to him) in the name of his God and Father. In other words, "Keep them, whoever you have given me, in your name." This corresponds with Ezekiel 34:23, where Jehovah says that he set up "one shepherd" over his sheep. By his words recorded in John 10:16 and in its context, Jesus was declaring himself to be this one true --the genuine -- shepherd of his Father's sheep. (John 10:29) Nevertheless, if it is thought that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, because the name Jehovah was given to Jesus, this would actually mean that Jesus was not Jehovah until his God gave to Him the Holy Name, which really doesn't make sense.
Nevertheless, was the name of Jesus' God in Jesus? Yes, in the sense that Jesus came in the name of Jehovah, his God, and he stands and feeds the sheep in the name of Jehovah, his God and Father. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Psalm 118:26; Micah 5:4; Matthew 21:9; 23:13,39; Mark 11:9,10,26; 13:35; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 5:43; 10:25; 12:13; Ephesians 1:3.
Exodus 23:25 - And ye shall serve Jehovah your God, and he will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. -- American Standard Version.
According to some, the above speaks of two different persons as being Jehovah, since Jehovah refers to Himself as "he" and also "I". The reasoning appears to be that since Jehovah speaks of Himself in both the third person and second person in the same sentence, we thus need to imagine, assume, add to, and read into the scripture that Jehovah is more than one person, etc. Actually, there is no reason to imagine and assume anything beyond what is written related to Exodus 23:25 as in Exodus 31:17, where Jehovah again speaks of himself in the first and third person.
The more logical reasoning should be that Jehovah spoke of Himself in the third person to emphasize that it was indeed He, and not a false god or some man, who gives this blessing.
Nothing in any of this actually gives us reason to conjure up and presume that this angel is a person of Jehovah, or even that this angel is Jesus, although we can say that the latter is a possibility; if it is so, the Bible says nothing about this angel or any other angel of Jehovah as being Jesus. Definitely, there is nothing in these verses, or any place else in the Bible, about a triune God, or that God is three persons, or that Jesus is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, etc.
Ronald R. Day, Sr.