|
_001.jpg) There are several key verses which Christians use to
prove the biblical origin of the Trinity. Upon analysis of these verses, one
can clearly see that they do not prove the Trinity, but rather the same
monotheistic message of God. One of the most frequently cited passages from
the Bible is Isaiah 9:6-7, from which Christians conclude that the Messiah must
be God incarnate. The passage states:
“or a child will be born to us, a son will be given
to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will
be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David
and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and
righteousness from then on and forevermore the zeal of the Lord of hosts will
accomplish this.”
That Isaiah
9:6 has been misinterpreted can be seen from
the fact that Jesus is never called the “Eternal Father” anywhere else in Bible. Since the Trinitarian
doctrine teaches that Christians should “neither confound the Persons
nor divide the Substance” (Athanasian Creed),
how can the Trinitarians accept that Jesus is the “Eternal Father”? Let us consider additional facts impartially.
First, all the Hebrew verb forms in Isaiah 9:6 are
in the past tense. For example, the word which the Christian Bibles render as “his
name will be called” is the two words ‘vayikra shemo,’ which
properly translated, should read “his name was called.” The word “vayikra”
is the first word to appear in the book of Leviticus (1:1), and it is
translated properly over there – in the past tense. In addition, the King
James Version translates the same verbs elsewhere in the past tense in Genesis
4:26 and Isaiah 5:25. Only in Isaiah 9:6-7 are these verbs translated in the
future tense!
Notice that it says “a child HAS been born to us.”
This is an event that has just occurred, not a future event. Isaiah is not
making a prophecy, but recounting history. A future event would say a child
will be born to us, but this is NOT what the verse says. The Christian
translations capitalize the word ‘son’ assuming that this is a messianic
prophecy and the names of a divine son.
Second, the two letter word “is”, is
usually not stated in Hebrew. Rather, “is” is understood. For example,
the words “hakelev” (the dog) and “gadol” (big), when joined into
a sentence - hakelev gadol - means “the dog IS big,” even though no
Hebrew word in that sentence represents the word “is.” A more accurate
translation of the name of that child, then, would be “A wonderful counselor
is the mighty God, the everlasting father ...”. This name describes God,
not the person who carries the name. The name Isaiah itself means “God is
salvation,” but no one believes the prophet himself is God in a human body!
Third, the phrase “Mighty God” is a poor
translation according to some biblical scholars. Although English makes a
clear distinction between “God” and “god,” the Hebrew language,
which has only capital letters, cannot. The Hebrew word “God” had a
much wider range of application than it does in English. Some suggest a better
translation for the English reader would be “mighty hero,” or “divine
hero.” Both Martin Luther and James Moffatt translated the phrase as “divine
hero” in their Bibles.
Fourth, according to the New Testament, Jesus was
never called any of these names in his lifetime.
Fifth, if Isaiah 9:6 is taken to refer to Jesus, then
Jesus is the Father! And this is against the Trinitarian doctrine.
Sixth, the fact that the New Testament does not
quote this passage shows that even the New Testament authors didn’t take this
verse to be in reference to Jesus.
Seventh, the passage is talking about the wonders
performed by the Lord for Hezekiah, king of Judah. Preceding verses in Isaiah
9 talk of a great military triumph by Israel over its enemies. At the time
Isaiah is said to have written this passage, God had just delivered King
Hezekiah and Jerusalem from a siege laid by the Assyrians under General
Sennacherib. The deliverance is said to have been accomplished in spectacular
fashion: an angel went into the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 soldiers while
they slept. When Sennacherib awoke to find his army decimated, he and the
remaining soldiers fled, where he was assassinated by his own sons (Isaiah
37:36-38). Chapters 36 and 37 of Isaiah recount how Hezekiah stood firm in the
face of Sennacherib’s vast army and his blasphemous words against the God. When
all seemed lost, Hezekiah continued to trust in the Lord, and for this he was
rewarded with a miraculous victory. It is interesting to note that the
statement, “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this,” found
at the end of Isaiah 9:7, is found in only two other places in the Bible: Isaiah
37:32 and 2 Kings 19:31. Both these passages discuss the miraculous
deliverance of Hezekiah by God. Therefore, in light of the above, Isaiah is
recounting God’s defense of Jerusalem during the Assyrian siege. Furthermore, Soncino’s
commentary says the chapter is about the fall of Assyria and the announcement
of the birth of Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz.
|
