[Taken from the God Papers  by Walter R. Dolen
 Copyright © 1977-2003 by Walter R. Dolen and/or BeComingOne Church]

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From Part 1 of the God Papers by Walter R Dolen
newest version (July 17, 2000)
supercedes all previous versions

Bizarre Gods of Yesterday

gp3In contrast some more "humane" societies only sacrificed animals: sheep, goats, and birds. Around their holy hills they sold animals for sacrifices. Temple prostitution was present in many cultures. Some walked on fire, wrapped poisonous snakes around their necks, and beat and disfigured themselves with whips and knives. Others prayed in various ritualistic ways to their gods with pious and disfigured faces, hoping that their gods would listen to them and grant their request. Kings assumed for themselves godhood and had their subjects worship them as gods. In their kingship they robbed and humiliated their subjects. These god-kings started wars, raped, killed, and destroyed cities and nations.

Today's Gods

gp4Today there are many theories on who or what is God. Depending on your education and mindset, some of these explanations of God are serious while others are ludicrous. There are few remnants of killing-sacrifices today, but there are financial sacrifices, verbal prayers, and ascetic rituals for the gods.

Gods and Creation

gp5Did a cosmic and non-intelligent soup create the universe, did a weak and pathetic god create it, or did an all-powerful God create it? The cosmic-soup theory (evolution) is omnipotent; it is like God: it creates matter; from it all life evolved; it's all-powerful. Although some theologians speak of God as all-powerful, for many God needs the magic of the cosmic-soup to create the universe and mankind. And for many God's power is tempered in someway because he is struggling for good against a surprisingly powerful Devil. For this "all-powerful" God, there is the "problem of evil."

But there is evidence against the magical cosmic-soup, and against the weak-pathetic god. The intelligence and complexity of the cosmos cannot come from a non-intelligent soup or a weak-pathetic god. The genetic code of life that exists in each of our cells is one proof of the intelligence and complexity of life. This code of life must have come from a highly intelligent Power not from a non-intelligent cosmic soup. This, and much more, is evidence for a powerful and intelligent God. That is, a great intelligent Power has created the universe. Science, as understood by many, cannot and never will acknowledge a powerful God, because the very definition of Science rules out the supernatural: "science" was instituted to negate the overbearing influence of religion on knowledge, but if the true answer includes the acts of a powerful-creating God, "science" by its very definition will ignore this truth.

Who or What is the Creation Power?

gp6 The real question is, who or what is this Power that created the universe? Is God the same as what we have been taught? What is the essence of this God? What is His behavior or personality? Is it even possible to know?

gp7 An intelligent Power who created an intelligent and complex universe may have, should have, or must have somehow revealed his essence to mankind. We have come to the conclusion that the Power has revealed his essence. In the God Papers we examine God, the great Power, scripturally. This means, we will use the Bible to study God because we believe the Bible reveals the essence of God. We believe the Bible reveals the essence of God because of the Bible’s uniqueness, its history, its inner cohesiveness, its fulfilled prophecy, its continuing confirmation by archeology, and so on. Remember Science, in and of itself, will always rule out the supernatural; if the true answer includes the acts of a powerful God, "science" by its very definition will ignore this truth. You must read our paper entitled the "Bible Paper" [BP 3] or similar works by others to understand better the uniqueness and greatness of the Holy Bible. Just reading the so-called "higher criticism" of 19^th century German scholarship, with its more than questionable presuppositions, and/or just reading the simplistic views of certain religious denominations will blind you to the message of the Bible. Please suspend judgment for now, and read on.

gp8The question then becomes, who is the Lord (yhwh) or Jehovah (yhwh) of the Old Testament of the Bible? Who is Jesus Christ? Who is God the Father? Is the true God a Trinitarian God as some suppose? Is the true God a God of love? Is the real God a God of fire and damnation? Who or what is God?

Paradoxes on God

gp9We will use the Bible to ascertain the essence of God. But the Bible seems to be highly contradictory. How can God be love (lJohn 4:8), and also a killer? In scripture the Lord says, "I kill and I make alive; I wound, and I heal" (Deut 32:39; 1Sam 2:6). Yet the Bible says that the God is good to all (Psa 145:9). How can God be good to all and also a killer? How can God predestinate some to wrath and destruction (Rom 9:21-23; Jude 1:4; Prov 16:4; 1 Peter 2:8), and some to mercy and glory (Rom 9:21-23; Eph 1:4-5; etc.)? Not only is God love, but He is all-powerful (Gen 17:1; Rev 1:8). In his all-powerfulness He even created evil: "I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things" (Isa 45:7). These are some of the Biblical paradoxes of God. Just how can God be love and also a killer, or how or why has He created evil? According to the Biblical definition of love (1Cor 13:4-8), killing or evil isn't one of the qualities of love. Yet, according to the Bible, God is love and in someway has killed and in someway has created evil.

Most known attempts to negate these paradoxes of God have failed. Some call the problem of these paradoxes, the "problem of evil." But the only true description of the true God must explain these paradoxes. If one's explanation of God does not, then his god is not the God.

Time to Study and Choose Carefully

gp10The goal of the God Papers is to define God through His scripture.

But this will not be easy. Christ even said: "no one knows who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whom the Son reveals" (Luke 10:22). Theologians have for almost 2,000 years been studying the essence of Jesus and the Father and have come up with differing views. The most popular views on God are based on Grecian views from a Greek culture and a Greek translation of the Old Testament Bible. It is from the Old Testament that most of our knowledge pertaining to God comes. Even the New Testament’s doctrine comes from the Old Testament. Therefore we base our study on the Hebrew Bible: the Hebrews wrote it (through God’s influence and power), and they wrote it down in the Hebrew language. If God wanted the Bible to come to us through the Grecian culture, he would have originally used the Greeks and their language to write it. But God chose the Hebrews with their language and its peculiarities. You will have to read and study carefully in order to ascertain. In the God Papers we will define and elucidate the Biblical God by logically incorporating apparent paradoxes into our definition of God. We will use the real Name of God to help us do this because the meaning of God’s Name is the secret to explaining the nature of God. Do read on.

Two Basic Laws

Law of Contradiction and Law of Knowledge

gp11There are two basic laws of reasoning and knowledge. These laws are so elementary that most people know them only intuitively. Only a few such as Aristotle and the stoic writer Chrysippus have attempted to put these laws into words. By amplifying these two laws we project the real reason why the all-powerful Power, the Real God, has "allowed" evil to exist in his creation, or in His own words why He, "created evil" (Isa 45:7).

• One law, the Law of Contradiction, shows us the only sure way of ascertaining the truth from known facts.

• The other law, the Law of Knowledge, shows us why God has allowed evil to exist.

We will explain the Law of Contradiction now; in GP 7 of the God Papers we will explain the Law of Knowledge and why the Power has allowed evil.

God Does Not Lie

gp12Along with these two laws of reasoning and knowledge must go the important fact that the true God does not lie. God cannot go back on his word (Isa 46:11). In fact, it is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:17-18; 1John 5:18; etc.). With these three things we will be able to understand who or what God was/is/will-be and understand why God has created the way He has created. If we do not believe in the two basic laws, we will not understand. (A point of fact here: if these laws do not exist, we do not and cannot understand anything.) If we do not believe ALL of God's words are truthful, it is futile to look for the truth, for how would we ascertain his true words from his false words?

Law Of Contradiction

What is the Law of Contradiction?

gp13There is no greater principle in thinking than the Law of Contradiction. You cannot know anything, I repeat, you cannot know anything if the Law is not true. What is the Law?:

• "Now the best established of all principles may be stated as follows: The same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject in the same respect ... This I repeat, is the most certain of all principles...." [Aristotle in Metaphysics]
• "There is a principle in existing things about which we cannot make a mistake; of which, on the contrary, we must always realize the truth -- that the same thing cannot at one and the same time be and not be, nor admit of any other similar pair of opposites...." [Aristotle in Metaphysics]
• "The most certain principle of all is that regarding which it is impossible to be mistaken; for such a principle must be both the best known ... and non-hypothetical. For a principle which every one must have who understands anything that is, is not a hypothesis; and that which every one must know who knows anything ... Evidently then such a principle is the most certain of all ... It is, that the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject and in the same respect." [Aristotle in Metaphysics]

Aristotle is reported to have written this in his Metaphysics. Aristotle further said that "everyone in argument relies upon this ultimate law, on which all others rest." He said this principle or law of logic "must be known if one is to know anything at all." He also said, "if everything is and at the same time is not, all opinions must be true."

If everything is and at the same time is not ...

gp14Aristotle was right. There is no greater principle in thinking than the Law of Contradiction. Something cannot be all black and at the same time be all white. But a wall can be all white at noon time, and be all black at one hour past noon, because it was painted black shortly after noon time. Or for that matter, something cannot appear to be all white to a certain individual, and at the same time appear to the same certain individual as any other color. Either the object at that time was all white or it was not. But for those who ignore the Law, they say without blinking their eyes:

• the wall is black at the same time it is white, or the wall is simultaneously black and white.

You protest. You say, no fool would say that a wall can be simultaneously black and white? Do read on.

At the same time ...

gp15A man cannot be legally married and not be legally married at the same time. But a man named Joseph can be married at noon time on Tuesday, and not be married at two minutes past noon time because his wife died at one minute past noon. But this Joseph was not: married and not married at the same time. Although you can say that on Tuesday Joseph was single, he was married, and he was widowered; Joseph was not single, married, or widowered at the same time even though on the same day he was all three.

Good and Evil at the same time or ...

gp16A man cannot be good (in the truest sense of the word) and yet at the same time commit murder. But John could have killed Joseph last year, yet today be good because he has changed from his former behavior. He is a reformed murderer. In the English language, you can still call this John a killer because in the past he killed Joseph, and you at the same time could call John, "good," because he has reformed. But you cannot say that John was good when he murdered Joseph. Time has an important part to play in the Law of Contradiction. Your general behavior cannot be good and evil at the same time, but your general behavior could have been bad in the past, and yet you have now changed your general behavior to that which may be called good.

Same time in the same respect

gp17Because of the Law of Contradiction, you cannot be physically present on First Street in San Jose, California at 1:30 PM on April 20 and at the same time be physically present on First Street in New York, New York. Of course those who play word games could say that at the same time you were mentally in San Jose, you were physically in New York. Notice the change in the sense of being in a place. For those who play word games, Aristotle qualified his statement: "the same attribute cannot at the same time belong and not belong to the same subject in the same respect." His qualification, "in the same respect," means that you cannot be, in the same sense, in San Jose and New York at the same time.

"If everything is and at the same time is not, all opinions must be true"

gp18» If the Law of Contradiction is not correct, you could say that John murdered Joseph at 1:30 PM, or just as truthfully say that the same John did not murder the same Joseph at 1:30 PM on the same day. Both of these contrary statements can be truthful at the same time, if the Law of Contradiction is not true. Again, if the Law of Contradiction is not valid, you could say and be 'correct': "I am alive physically, yet in the same sense and at the same time that I am alive -- I am also dead." But you protest again. No one you say in their right mind would say he is alive and dead at the same time in the same respect. Do read on.

Word Games or Lies

gp19The Law of Contradiction is so obviously valid that few say it isn't true, yet there are many who act as if the Law of Contradiction is not true by their belief in contrary theories. In fact, impossible contradictions are taught as truth each day in the fields of religion, politics, law, and "science." If contradictions are taught by "respected" people, they are accepted by some, even though at some level of thought they see the contradiction. Authority and tradition are strong -- so strong that real contradictions are taught as the absolute truth. Many dogmas use obviously false statements such as claiming:

• "The simultaneity of Jesus's death and immortality" (Hugh Ross,

gp20How can Jesus be immortal and simultaneously experience death? There is a way to move beyond the paradox of Jesus being God, yet Jesus dying, without tossing out the Law of Contradiction. In order to know anything we must hold on to the Law of Contradiction. The theologians are making a mistake in their beliefs that force them to ignore and degrade the Law of Contradiction. Of course, by degrading the Law of Contradiction, they are making their biggest mistake, and this is why they will never find the truth. You cannot find the Truth without using the Law of Contradiction.

Do words have meaning?

gp21Please, please, please. Look again at the statement from the astronomer Hugh Ross, a person with a Ph.D in astronomy:

• "The simultaneity of Jesus's death and immortality" (Hugh Ross, Beyond the Cosmos, p. 108).

Ross is not stupid. But because Ross and others believe that Jesus is God, and that God is not mutable or changeable, ⁽²⁾ then in order for Jesus to die on the cross, he must have been dead and alive at the same time. Instead of examining their immutable theory they insist on saying that God was alive and dead at the same time.

gp22Do words have meaning? Apparently not for some theologians. Berkhof wrote:

• "In view of all this [scripture] it may be said that, according to Scripture, physical death is a termination of physical life by the separation of body and soul. It is never an annihilation... Death is not a cessation of existence, but a severance of the natural relations of life. Life and death are not opposed to each other as existence and non-existence, but are opposites only as different modes of existence. It is quite impossible to say exactly what death is. We speak of it as the cessation of physical life, but then the question immediately arises, Just what is life? And we have no answer." [Berkhof, Systematic Theology, p. 668].

I do not believe that Berkhof does not understand what death is. He merely doesn't want to believe it because of some view he holds. In order for some to believe in certain theories they must either change the normal meaning of words (death is not death) or diffuse its meaning. How can death be a different mode of existence as Berkhof maintains? He completely negates the meaning of death by asserting this. This is a ploy used by those who do not wish to look the truth in the eye. When their theory on the nature of God cannot hold up, they merely change the meaning of words, or make preposterous statements that claim and maintain:

• "The simultaneity of Jesus's death and immortality" (Hugh Ross,

Knowledge cannot exist outside the Law of Contradiction

gp23The Law of Contradiction is true. Once explained and understood it is the most obvious law. It is the basis on which we judge what is true and what is not true. It is the basis on which courts judge whether a person committed a crime or not. Either the murderer was at the crime scene at the same time as the crime or he was not. He could not, be there and not be there, at the same time in the same respect.

Summarize the Law of Contradiction

gp24The Law of Contradiction is the basis from which we reason:

• something or some specific action cannot at the same time be and not be.

But there are some, as Aristotle noted, that foolishly argue against this law. But I ask, how can anyone not believe in this law? If someone does not believe in this law, he cannot prove or disprove anything (at any one time something could be or could not be true); he cannot believe in anything (for what he believes in could just as well not be true).

Trinity, Godhead and the Law of Contradiction

Immortality and Death

gp25According to the Bible God is immortal (1Tim 1:17). Thus, it follows from the Law of Contradiction that God cannot be immortal (not capable of death) and yet at the same time be capable of death. Either God is immortal or he is not. He cannot be both mortal (capable of death) and immortal (not capable of death) at the same time. Furthermore, if at first, God was immortal, then at no time later can he die. If a so-called immortal person ever dies, it merely means, he was never immortal. If one denies this, he either denies the Law of Contradiction or denies the meaning of the word "immortal." To deny the meaning of "immortal" is to play a word game.

"With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible"

gp26Now some will think that yes God is immortal and yes those who are immortal cannot die, but "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37, KJV). Thus, they reason, in so many words, God (or Jesus Christ) before his "incarnation" was immortal, but nevertheless died on the cross, for without this death no man could be saved. They reason that this contradiction is not contrary because "with God nothing shall be impossible." But this kind of "reasoning" makes a mockery out of reasoning. It is against the Law of Contradiction and against scripture

(They also use the argument that God is timeless, immortal, and immutable, and thus according to their theory, the fleshly body of the Son must have been "taken" because he could not literally be made flesh, for he was not mutable. See more against this argument in the Trinity v. BeComingOne Comparative Tables.)

Incorrect Translation

gp27There is a problem with the above argument. They use Luke 1:37 of the Kings James Version (KJV), but this is a mistranslation of the Greek text. Luke 1:37 from the Greek language says: "for not shall be impossible with the God any word." The Greek word rhema (Strong's #4487) was not translated in Luke 1:37 in the KJV. The Greek word rhema means: "word, saying, any thing spoken." Thus in the very next verse, Luke 1:38, we find this same Greek word rhema translated as "word": "be it according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). What was being said in Luke 1:37, is that God's word that Mary would have the child Jesus even though she "know not a man" (Luke 1:34), was not impossible (Luke 1:37). Thus Mary believing the words answered the angel, "be it unto me according to thy word [Gk. rhema]" (Luke 1:38). The scripture that says in the KJV "with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27) is in context merely saying that even the rich men can be saved, for such things are possible with God.

God of Law, Not of Confusion

gp28To say that God can go against the basis of reason, the Law of Contradiction, is mockery. God is a God of Law (Isa 33:22; etc.), not of confusion (1Cor 14:33). God is a God of His Word: "So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper whereto I sent it" (Isa 55:11). "I have spoken, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed, I will also do it" (Isa 46:11).

God's Word Not Impossible

gp29Luke 1:37 is saying that all God's words are possible with God (see Greek text). Nothing God speaks or says is too hard for him for he created heaven and earth by his word (Psa 33:6). "Ah Lord GOD [yhwh] behold; you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and stretched out arm, and there is not too difficult for you any word" (Jer 32:17). Notice in the KJV of Jer 32:17 there is again a mistranslation, "there is nothing too hard for thee," instead of "there is no word too hard for thee." It says in the Hebrew that no word (Heb. dabar) of God is too difficult for Him. Why? It is because God does not lie. Therefore any word he speaks is true. "The sum of your word is true," or "chief is your true word," or "truth is the head of your word," or "the head of your word is truth," or "your supreme word is true" (Psa 119:160, see Heb. and various translations). He who is the liar is Satan (John 8:44).

Truth Is

gp30The truth is: what is, at one point in time. What is false is: what is not, at a certain point in time. One statement cannot be true and false at the same time. God cannot be immortal and yet be capable of death. God cannot be alive forever, and yet die. God cannot go back on his word (Isa 46:11). It is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:17-18; 1John 5:18; etc.). Considering everything, it is impossible for God to go against the Law of Contradiction.

It Follows Thus:

gp31From the above arguments it follows that:

• God did not die on the "cross" (tree "stake" or "post");

• God did not change from immortality to mortality in order to die on the cross (God cannot change what has gone out of his mouth); OR an immortal angel (note Luke 20:36) was not "transformed" from immortality to mortality in order to die on the cross;

• he who died on the cross was not God, when he died;

• he who died on the cross was a mortal, for he died;

• he who died on the cross could not have existed as God or angel (angels do not die, Luke 20:36) before his birth as a mortal, because those who are immortal cannot change from their state to mortality;

• he who was born (or thus came into an existence through a physical birth) and died (through the 'cross') was a man;

• that man was/is Jesus Christ the man who with a resurrection went into his Father (God) and became one with the God and now sits on the right side of the Power of the God (GP 4-8).

Jesus Christ as a mortal man before his resurrection was a man, "the man Christ Jesus" (1Tim 2:5). He was a go-between (mediator) between God and man (1Tim 2:5). He was a physical son of God. But he did not exist (the one who died) before his birth (GP 4).

Trinity Belief Impossible

What is the Trinity Belief?

gp32From the above, especially when you understand the Law of Contradiction, you know that three uniquely different persons cannot exist as one person at the same time (Trinity theory). The Trinitarians have been changing and redefining their theory on God from the beginning of their theory. But what many of them are saying is this:

• There is one God being who created all and who is immortal and all-powerful (p. 87, Systematic Theology, by L. Berkhof; p 155-156, The Trinity, by Bickersteth);

• There are three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in this one God being; these are not three different metonymical names for the same essence in the one God being (p. 87, ;

• The whole essence of God belongs equally to each of the three persons (p. 88, Systematic Theology; p. 155, The Trinity).
 

gp33From, Logic and the Nature of God (1983), by Stephen T. Davis, the trinity doctrine is stated:

• "The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is notoriously easier to state than explain. Augustine states it as follows:

There are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and each is God, and at the same time all are one God; and each of them is a full substance, and at the same time all are one substance. The Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son. But the Father is the Father uniquely; the Son is the Son uniquely; and the Holy Spirit is the holy Spirit uniquely. All three have the same eternity, the same immutability, the same majesty, and the same power...." [p. 132]

gp34Davis in his 1983 book further stated:

• "But is the doctrine of the Trinity coherent? Is there any good reason for a Christian to believe it? Let us say that the doctrine consists at heart of five statements:

• (1) The Father is God

• (2). The Son is God

• (3). The Holy Spirit is God

• (4). The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not the Father

• (5). There is one and only one God." [pp. 134-135]

What Mystery?

gp35"Not surprisingly, Christian theologians almost with one voice have stressed that this doctrine is a great mystery, perhaps the greatest mystery in Christian theology" (p. 132). But some of them use scripture out of context to prove this. They quote Paul speaking about mystery:

• Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: [NRS 1 Timothy 3:16]

and misquote Paul:

• That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ. [KJV, Colossians 2:2]

gp36Paul wasn't acknowledging any mystery, this last verse is better understood from the NRS version:

• I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ himself, [NRS Colossians 2:2]

gp37Paul was praying for others to understand the knowledge of God's mystery like Paul understood it. Paul did understand the mystery and in fact revealed it to the Church:

• he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, [NRS, Ephesians 1:9]

• and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. [NRS, Ephesians 3:3-4]

• This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. [NRS Ephesians 5:32]

• Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, [NRS Ephesians 6:19]

• I became its servant according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. [NRS, Colossians 1:25-26].

Therefore there is no mystery, for Paul was given the revelation to reveal it, and Paul did reveal it, as we will again, in more detail, reveal it in the God Papers.

Trinitarian Belief against the Law of Contradiction

gp38Thus, Trinitarians are saying that three uniquely different beings are a one, single, unique being at the very same time they are three. This is against the Law of Contradiction and against Biblical scripture as we will see. We can understand three in one, or even two in one, or even a million in one, but this "one," in its totality, cannot be exactly the same as each of the three, or either of the two, or each of the million.

One in Number, but Three in Person

gp39Either there is only one (single/individual) God or there are three (as one, as a unit, in some kind of unity or oneness) at the same time, but both "the only one" and "the three persons" cannot exist as the only one (single/individual) at the same time. When the Trinitarians are speaking of one God, they are not using one as a synonym for "unity." To them the oneness of God is not the same as the unity of God. When they speak of the "only one" they mean singleness, numerically speaking, of God. Yet to them there are three persons in this one (numerically speaking) God. This is the first real contradiction. A drop of water can only appear as either ice, or water, or vapor at any one time: all three states of the same water drop cannot exist at the same moment.

Immortal Person Dies?

gp40There is another real contradiction in their theory. In the Trinity theory they have an immortal being dying. Someone who is immortal cannot die. Someone with the potential to die is mortal. Anyone who says an immortal being can die either doesn't know the meaning of 'immortal' or is playing a word game. God's essence is not like the god of the Trinity as commonly taught today.

God Not the Trinity

gp41One reason God is not a trinity is because the Trinity idea is against the Law of Contradiction. For other reasons (documented in the God Papers) that God is not the Trinity, note the following:

• Jesus Christ the man was not God before his death and resurrection: he was the son of God.

• Jesus Christ the man did not exist before his birth. Jesus Christ was foreknown before his birth and death, but he did not exist before his birth, except in the mind and planning of the God (see Psa 139:16; Jer 1:4-5, NIV).

• But doesn't it seem to say in the Bible that Jesus Christ is God? Yes (see GP 5).

• Don't some titles of God in the Old Testament now appear on Jesus Christ? Yes (see GP 5).

• Doesn't the Bible seem to say that Jesus Christ is the Creator and God? Yes (see GP 5).

• BUT the Bible does not speak of Jesus Christ the man, before his resurrection and his going to his Father, as the God, or a God, or the Creator.

• When Jesus Christ was a man, before going to his Father, he spoke of his Father as the God of the Jews (John 8:54).

• He spoke of his Father as "my God" (John 20:17).

• He spoke of his Father or God as being greater than himself (John 14:28).

• And He prayed to his Father (John 17:1) as if his Father was a separate entity, which the Father was at one point in time.

In the God Papers the problem of God and his Son has been solved. Time plays an important role in the answer.

But what about the Holy Spirit?

Fourth Person in the Godhead?

gp42The Trinitarians argue:

• "First, we show that the Bible teaches that there is only one God. Second, we found that the Bible tells us that there are three persons who are called God. Hence, the inescapable conclusion: the three persons are the One God. Theologians have called this the Trinity"

(Of course, whether you know it or not, the theologians also deny that the three "persons" in the Trinity are in fact, persons. They use their own pseudo-word "hypostases" when they speak of the three persons in the Trinity, since they know that when we think of persons we think of distinct individuals, and three distinct individuals cannot be one in the sense the Trinitarians want to use "one." The Trinitarians wish to use "one" in a limiting sense that does not even coincide with the historical use and meaning of "one." See "One in History" below.)

The Trinitarians tell us that because three "persons" (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) are called God in the Bible that this is proof that they are God and are the three persons in the ONE God. And that this is the Trinity. But ...

Four or More Persons in the "Trinity"?

gp43Wait a moment. With the Trinitarians own logic we can prove that there are four or more "persons" in their "one" God. According to the Trinitarians own special logic the "Holy One" could be the fourth person in their "one" God:

• The Holy One is God (Psa 71:22; 78:41; Isa 29:23; 43:3; 48:17; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9; Hosea 11:9; Hab 1:12)

• The Holy One is YHWH (Isa 30;15; 48:17; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9)

• The Holy One is the Savior (Isa 43:3)

• The Holy One is the Redeemer (Isa 48:17; 54:5)

• The Holy One can be sinned against (Jer 51:5; Hab 1:12)

• The Holy One is (in a sense) Jesus (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34)

• The Holy One is a person, a "he" (Isa 49:7; 54:5)

How about Five Persons?

gp44We just identified a fourth person in the Godhead using the Trinitarians' own logic. How about a fifth person? The "Almighty" in the Bible did the same things the Holy Spirit did.

• The Almighty is God (Gen 35:11;49:25; Rev 4:8)

• The Almighty is YHWH (Ruth 1:21)

• The Almighty is prayed to (Job 8:5; 21:15)

• The Almighty answers prayer (Job 31:35)

• The Almighty is beyond finding out (Job 11:7; 37:23

• The Almighty gives spiritual understanding (Job 32:18)

• The Almighty does not sin (Job 34:10)

• The Almighty is the Father (2Cor 6:18)

• The Almighty is the Lord and God (Rev 11:17)

• The Almighty is the was, is, and will be (Rev 1:8; 4:8; 11:17)

• The Almighty is king (Rev 15:3)

• The Almighty is Jesus (Rev 1:8 cf. w/ 22:12-13, 20)

• The Almighty is a person, a "he" (Gen 43:14; Job 37:23; Eze 10:5)

So as the "Holy One" could be one of the "persons" in the Godhead, so could be the "Almighty" according to the logic that the Trinitarians used to put the Holy Spirit into the Godhead.

Metonymy and the Holy Spirit

gp45The problem with the Trinitarian’s logic is that the Holy Spirit, the Holy One, and the Almighty are merely words that describe different aspects of God and are being used in the Bible in a metonymical way. The phrase "Holy Spirit" or "Holy One" or "Almighty" are metonyms or words used in metonymy. Metonymy is a figure of speech. "Metonymy is a figure by which one name or noun is used instead of another, to which it stands in a certain relation" (Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, by E. W. Bullinger, p. 538). Or metonymy is the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as "scepter" for "sovereignty," or "the bottle" for "strong drink" (Random House Dict.). Another example is the "White House" is used as metonym when we say, "the White House said today...." What we mean is "the President said today...." The White House is not a person or power, but is a name of an object closely related to the President. When we say "the White House said today," we are using language in a metonymical way (a figure of speech) to say "the President said today." When we say the "Holy Spirit dwells in us," (2Tim 1:14) we are using language in a metonymical way to say "God abides in us," (1John 4:12) or "Jesus Christ is in you" (2Cor 13:5; Col 1:27). The "Holy Spirit" is another name for God. God revealed his name of names to Moses in Exodus 3:13-15. (see below)

gp46The Bible uses hundreds of different figures of speech as Bullinger manifested in his book, Figures of Speech used in the Bible. One figure of speech the Bible used was the "Holy Spirit" for God, or the "Holy One" for God. The "Holy Spirit" is God's spirit. God possesses spirit because he is made up of spirit, for God is spirit (John 4:24). His spirit is the "Holy Spirit" because he is holy. The phrase "Holy Spirit" is a metonym for God, not a name of a different person of the Godhead, but a name of a different aspect of God. The phrase "Holy One" is a metonym for God because God is Holy. The "Holy One" is not a separate person of the Godhead, but it is just another name for an aspect of God. The word "Almighty" is not a different person of the Godhead, but it is just another name for some aspect of God for God is all mighty. In fact, concerning the "Almighty" the Bible actually says that it was just another name for the God:

• "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah [YHWH] was I not known to them...." [Ex 6:3]

Father is God; Jesus Christ is God; Holy Spirit is God

gp47God has many names as we show in Part one of the God Papers. The Bible used metonymy when referring to God. That is, the Bible used many different names and phrases for God. The Bible used the "Father" as a name for God. The Bible, starting with Christ's resurrection, used "Jesus Christ" as a name for God. The Bible used the "Holy Spirit" as a name for God. The Bible used the "Holy One" as a name for God. The Bible used the "Almighty" as a name for God. But God's most important Name is YHWH. This is why you baptize into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is YHWH (Jehovah, or Yehowah, or Yahweh, or ... ). The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the Holy One, and the Almighty are all just other names of YHWH.

Puzzle of the Godhead

gp48Remember that Jesus did not say in Luke 10:22 that no one knew who the Father and who the Holy Spirit were, except the Son. No, Jesus said no one knew who the Father was except the Son, or no one knew who the Son was except the Father. The puzzle of the Godhead had nothing to do with the Holy Spirit, but only the nature of the relationship of the Father and the Son. The "Holy Spirit" is just as much God as the Son, because both the Father and the Son (after the son went to the Father) are Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is not a different person of the Godhead, just as the Holy One or the Almighty are not different persons of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is a metonym that manifests one aspect of God. It is just another name for God. The name speaks about one aspect of God: He is Holy spirit, or He is spirit that is Holy. God has many names and they all teach us something about God. But the main Name for God is YHWH (Yehowah) as revealed to Moses in the original language of Exodus 3:14 ff.

An Example of Paradoxes and Time

gp49In testimony at a trial, three witnesses testified that they saw drugs being sold from a certain house on a certain day. (All houses on the block looked the same, had no street numbers, but did have different colored garage doors.) Each witness described the house, but each witness described the color of the garage door at the house as being a different color. One said it was brown, one said it was red, and one said it was green. This contradiction almost led to the home owners (husband and wife) being freed, except for the last witness. The last witness, who lived across the street from the house in question, explained that the normal color of the garage door was brown, but at 11 am on the day in question the owner came out and sprayed it red. His wife came home from shopping that same day at 12 pm and the witness could hear the man and woman arguing. She apparently didn't like the color. So the husband at 1 pm that same day came out of the house and sprayed the garage door green. On the same day the color of the garage door was brown, red, and green, but never was the garage door all three colors at the same time.

gp50What at first appeared to be a real contradiction, later just turned out to be explainable. Time played an important part in this story. At one time the garage door was brown. Later it became red. Still later it became green. The garage door was not brown, red, and green at the same time even though on the same day the door was all three colors. On this same day, in time, the door became different colors. Time played a significant role in this story, as does time play an important role in the understanding of the apparent paradoxes pertaining to God.

Time and Change Play Major Parts in the Answer

gp51The immutability theory blinds all who examine the scripture so that they cannot see through the paradoxes and are thus forced to hold on to an obviously contradictory theory, and are forced to call it a mystery even though Paul's writings indicate that the mystery of Christ was solved (Rom 16:25; Eph 1:9; 3:3-4, 9; 5:32; 6:19; Col 1:26-27; Paul's letters did not give .

gp52Knowing that time plays a major role, what we will see in the God Papers is this:

• At one time Jesus was a man (GP 4);
• At a later time Jesus was in the God (GP 5).
• At first only the Spirit of Jesus Christ existed (GP 3).
• Before Jesus Christ's physical birth, the flesh of Jesus only existed in the forethought of the God who had predestinated the Seed (through Adam & Eve and the patriarchs ), the fleshly Jesus Christ, to come into existence at the chosen time (GP 4 & PR 1).
• Later, when the fleshly Jesus was born, the essence of Jesus Christ was in some way split between his Spirit and his flesh (GP 4).
• At the death of Jesus, his Spirit was given up, thus separating the Spirit from the physical body for three days (GP 4).
• Only after Jesus' resurrection did he go back into the God and became one with the Spirit, and at that time for the first time Jesus was called God and was God (GP 5).
• On earth Jesus was the Son of God before his resurrection; he never claimed to be God before his resurrection and his return to his God, only the son of God.
 

Attributes Of God

We now must continue with our search for the real essence of God by studying the main attributes attributed to God. How is God described in the Bible?

God Is Life

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• 'For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself' [John 5:26 NKJV]

• " 'For in Him we live and move and have our being,' as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' " [Acts 17:28 NKJV]

God Has All Knowledge

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• Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. [Psa 147:5 NKJV]:

• For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. [1 Jo 3:20, NKJV].

God Is Everywhere

gp55But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! [1Ki 8:27, NKJV]

• "Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?" says the Lord; "do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the Lord [Jer 23:24, NKJV].
• Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. [Psa 139:7, NKJV]
• So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' [Acts 17:27, NKJV]

There Is Nothing Else Besides God

gp56"That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other." [Isa 45:6, NKJV]

gp57This scripture does not say there is not any like God, but it does say there is none besides God, "I am yhwh, and there is no other." Of course, if there is none besides God, then it follows there is also none like God. In a sense, the true God is everything; there is nothing beside Him. This may make little sense now, but after you read all the God Papers, you may come to understand.

God Is Invisible

gp58As we have just seen, God's presence and/or spirit and/or power is everywhere. But up to the present, most, if not all, have not seen God in a physical way (Although some can "see" God in a Spiritual sense. See Parts 2 & 11). This is because God in this age is invisible to human eyes:

• When he [God] passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him. [Job 9:11, NIV]
• He is the image of the invisible God... [Col 1:15, NIV]
• No one has ever seen God... [John 1:18]

See GP 2 and the rest of the God Papers to further understand this.

God Is Almighty

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• When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.' [Gen 17:1, NKJV]
• Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. [1Ch 29:12, NKJV]
• and said: "O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? [2Ch 20:6, NKJV]
• Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; [Isa 44:24, NKJV]
• You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?" [Rom 9:19, NKJV]

All Things Possible for God

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• And He [Christ] said, "Abba, Father, all things (are) possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will" [Mar 14:36, NKJV]

This "all things (are) possible" is qualified by Matt 26:39, Luke 22:42, and Mark 14:35. It is qualified by, "if it were possible" and "not as I will, but as you will." Everything was possible before God sent forth his will, or his word. But once God wills something, God does not go back on his word (See below under "God Keeps His Word."). Also notice that in Mark 14:36 there is no verb ("are") in the Greek text; therefore, all things were possible (to take away the death of Jesus) to the true God before he gave his word or before God predestinated Jesus Christ's death as the true Lamb of God (Acts 4:27-28; 2:23: 3:18).

Creator Makes All Things

gp61God has all the power in the whole universe. In fact God is the creator of the whole universe.

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth [Gen 1:1, NKJV].
• As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes all things [Ecc 11:5, NKJV].

Problem Of Evil

gp62The scripture we just studied tells us that God is almighty. With His great power God created all. God made all things. But do you understand what all includes? "All" not only includes the good, but "all" also includes the wicked, their evil, and even the waster or spoiler and his destruction (Isa 54:16). It is impossible for the God to have created good without in some way also having created evil, for good and evil are comparative qualities which need each other in order for anyone to know either quality (See GP 7; NM20; NM9). All power not only includes all the power of good, but also, somehow or in someway, all the power of evil. Therefore God cannot be almighty without having power over evil. Yet at the same time God cannot be good and still execute evil. This is "the problem of evil" that the theologians write about. The power over evil is somehow included in God's power as scripture indicates, for God (YHWH) in someway or somehow even kills and wounds (Deu 32:39, see below), and even created evil (Isa 45:7).

God's Connection with Good and Evil

gp63Job said to his wife: "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips." (Job 2:10)

• The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. [Prov 16:4]
• I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil [Hebrew - ra Strong's # 7451]; I, the Lord, do all these things.' [Isa 45:7]
• Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy. [Isa 54:16, NKJV]
• Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. [Deu 32:39, NKJV; also note 1Sam 2:6]

Paradoxical Sides of God

Right and Left Sides

gp64Notice that not only did the God create light, but he also created darkness (Isa 45::7; Gen 1:1-4). Notice that not only did God create peace, good, and life (Isa 45:7; Gen 1:31; 1Sam 2:6; Gen 1:24), but he also created evil and killed (Isa 45:7; Gen 1:1-2; Deut 32:39; 1Sam 2:6). There are two opposite aspects of God. You can call these two facets of God, God's right and left hand or sides. The Hebrew word for right hand (yamin) also means right side; the Hebrew word for left hand (semovl) also means left side.

gp65Since Jesus Christ, who was sinless, went to "right hand of the power of God" (Luke 22:69; Mat 26:64; Mark 14:62; Psa 110:1; Acts 2:33-34) and since Christ is the only God (Jude 1:25; 1Tim 1:17; 1Cor 8:4), then the right hand or side of God is the only God. Since the left side as opposed to the right side is looked upon as belonging to those who are evil (Mat 25:33-34,41), then the power of the left side of God is the evil side, but at this time the left side is not connected to God. Again, we are not saying that this "left side of God's power" is now God or is now in God, for God is good, and Christ is now at the right side of God's power, and Christ is good, without sin. Remember that we are looking at the "problem of evil." The scriptures admitted and did not deny that the evil in this world was somehow the responsibility of God, for God created evil (Isa 45:7). The hard question is how God created evil; since God is good, how is it even possible for God to create evil, or be responsible for it in any way whatsoever? In this work we will find an answer to the problem of evil. Do read on.

Right Side or Positive Aspects of God

God Is Good

gp66First let us look at the positive aspects of God, which all admit belong to God, for we all know that God is good.

• So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God...." [Mat 19:17; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:19]
• God's Name, Word, Spirit is good (Psa 54:6 [8]; Isa 39:8; Jer 29:10; Heb 6:5; Psa 143:10)

Not only is the one true God good, but God is or will be good to all:

• The Lord (is) good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works. [Psa 145:9, NKJV]

When is God good to all:

• God (YHWH) for good and mercy in olam [see Hebrew text:1Ch 16:34; 2Ch 5:13; 7:3; Ezra 3:11; Psa 100:5; 106:1; 107:1; 118:1,29; (135:3)136:1; Jer 33:11]

God Is Love

gp67He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. [1John 4:8, NKJV]

Love Is

gp68Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail ['become ineffective' -- because they will have been completed]; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. [1 Co 13:4-8]

• The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." [Gal 5:14]

Love is Not

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• Among other things Love is not: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [Galatians 5:19-21]

God Keeps His Word; He Does Not Lie

gp70It is impossible for God to lie (Heb 6:18, NIV; see, Titus 1:2):

• So is my WORD that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it (Isa 55:11, NIV).
• What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned, that will I do (Isa 46:11, NIV).
• The WORD is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return (Isa 45:23).
• My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips (Psa 89:34, NKJV).
 

gp71God does not lie, therefore all that comes out of his mouth, or all his words, are the truth. God's words are found in the Bible. Thus,

• For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law [Old Testament books] till all is fulfilled (Matt 5:18, NKJV).

[This scripture does not mean that in our copies of the Hebrew text that there would not be any variant (even the smallest) when compared to the originals, but it means that it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest word of God to fail. Note Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, by Bullinger, page 678, 1984 Baker printing.]

If what God has said has yet to happen, it will happen. The scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35).

Left Side or Negative Aspects of God:

gp72An honest reading of the Bible manifests to us negative aspects of God. Here follows some of them:

• killing kings [Psa 135:10; 136:18; 145:20]
• of bringing evil on Job [Job 42:11; 1:6-12; 2:1-8]
• somehow causing drought, or floods [Job 12:15]
• destroying nations, and making the leaders of the world go mad [Job 12:23-25; Dan 4:28-35; Deut 28:28]
• sending curses and confusion; He plagues some with diseases, and so on [Deut 28:15-68]
• killing Er, Onan, the firstborn of Egypt, the Pharaoh and his army, Korah his family and men, Israelites, Amorites, Uzzah, and so forth for various reasons [Gen 38:7; 38:9-10; Exo 12:29; 14:16-19, 24-27; Num 16:1-35; Num 16:41-50; 2Sam 24:1-15; Josh 10:6-12; 2Sam 6:6-7]
• And God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.' [Gen 6:13]
• The "anger of the Lord" or the "wrath of the Lord," or the "jealousy" God, or some "angel of the Lord" destroyed the people and are pictured in the Old Testament scripture as bringing "all the curses that are written in this book [the Bible]," and destroying such cities as Sodom and Gomorrah and even destroying 70,000 Israelites [Deut 29:20; Gen 19:24-29 with Deut 29:23,20; 2Sam 24:1, 15-16; Nah 1:2; see "God's Wrath" paper (PR 4)].

gp73Outside of the question of natural disasters, some of the evil God somehow brings upon mankind is because of mankind's evil (Deut chap 28; Josh 24:20; "God's Wrath" PR4 to PR6; etc.), which in turn came from the influence of the "other-mind" (NM21). We are not saying here that the evil brought on each man is directly proportional to each man's sin (Luke 13:1-5).

Anger of God or Wrath of God?

gp74We just saw a list of negative facets of God, and in it we saw the "anger of God" ("his anger"), or the "wrath of God" ("his wrath"), or "jealousy of God" ("his jealousy") that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and others (Gen 19:24-29; Deut 29:23,20). What does the Bible mean when it speaks about the "anger of God" or the "wrath of God"? First look at 2Samuel 24:1,15-16:

• "Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah.... So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite."

gp75Notice that it was an angel of the Lord (YHWH) that did the destroying. By doing a computer search for the words "anger of the Lord" we see the following verses also speak of the anger or wrath of Lord destroying and killing (Ex 4:14; 32:11,22; Num 11:1,10,33; 12:9; 25:4; 32:13,14; Deut 6:15; 7:4; 9:19; 11:17; 29:20; 29:23,27; 31:29; Joshua 1; 23:16; Jud 2:14,20; 3:8; 10:7; 14:19; 2Sam 6:7; 24:1; 1Kings 16:7; 22:53; 2Kings 13:3; 24:20; 1Chron 13:10; 12:12; 25:15; 28:11; Psa 6:1; 21:9; 106:40; Isa 5:25; 30:27; 66:15; Jer 4:8; 7:20; 12:13; 23:20; 25:37; 30:24; 42:18; 51:45; 52:3; Lam 1:12; 2:1,6; Ezek 25:14; 38:18; Zeph 2:2-3; 3:8; Zech 10:3; etc.).

Anger of God, Destroying Angel, and Satan

gp76From the Bible we know there are two kinds of angels: one good; one evil (GP3). What kind of angel of God, destroys? Who is the destroyer? There is a parallel verse to 2Samuel 24 found in 1 Chron 21:1,12:

• "Then Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.... pestilence in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel." (1Chron 21:1,12)

gp77It is Satan that moved David to Number the Israelites against God's will. (cf. 2Sam 24:1-2 with 1Chron 21:1-2). By comparing both versions and other scripture in the Bible, we see that the "anger" of the Lord is an angel called Satan, who goes about destroying, "the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1Pet 5:8).

gp78Look at another verse that says the same thing:

• Because he [Balaam] was going, began burning the anger of God, and an angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary [Satan] against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him." (Num 22:22; see Hebrew text)

In some way Satan is an "angel of the Lord" who destroys (1Chron  21:1,12). How can Satan be an "angel of the Lord"?

Evil Angel's Fate

gp79It is this evil angel and his angels, who are on the left hand or side of God, that will be put in the fire at the end of the age for their evil deeds:

• "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'... Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the aeonian fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:31-34,41)
• "And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day," (Jude 1:6)
• "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time." (Revelation 20:1-3 cf 20:10)

Right and Left Side Metaphor

gp80By comparing various verses we see that the abyss is the great lake of fire, and it is this fire that will burn up the evil of the world (Mat 3:10-12; 13:40; NM24). As the above scriptures indicate this evil is so to speak on the "left hand" or "left side" of God. In other words, the Bible uses a metaphor that compares the right side or hand of God with goodness, and conversely compares the left side or hand of God with evil. It is the left hand that is cut off and sent to the fire. Notice the principle of the following pertinent verse:

• "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire." (Mark 9:43)

gp81The all powerful God has the power of all good and all evil, or else he is not all powerful. What Mark 9:43 is telling us along with Matthew 25:41 and other verses, is that the God will cut off the power of his left hand or side at the end of the age and put it in the hell-fire for punishment of sins.

God has Power over Satan

gp82Notice that the Lord does indeed have power over Satan:

• Job 1:6 - Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" Then Satan answered the Lord and said, "From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it." 8 The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 "Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 "But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." 12 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord. (Job 1:6-12)
• "And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he [Job] is in your hand; but save his life" (Job 2:6).

So the Lord does have power over Satan, as He must, if He indeed is all powerful. The scriptures we are studying are hints, from which we will be able to understand and answer the "problem of evil."

Two Sides of God

gp83As we are seeing there are two sides of God, or two facets of God that work together to create good and evil: one side creates good; one side evil. Both sides work together to create as the right and left side of our brain work together to form our knowledge, our speech, and our personality.

Evil Never a part of the True God

gp84Does this mean that the real God now is in some way evil? No! God cannot be good and evil at the same time. Since the one true God is good, the real God can never be evil. Since God is all powerful, God in someway does have control over evil. But the real God now, is not doing evil. It is what we call the left side of God that is now doing evil. This evil "side" is not now the one true God. Evil will never be a part of God. But evil is being "allowed" in this age through predestination as we will see. As we will see in the God Papers, predestination, time, and God's real Name answer the paradoxes pertaining to God. Do read on.

God Predestinates Wrath and Mercy before Creation

How can there be a good side and an evil side to God?

gp85We have just seen that there are two sides to God's power: one good; one evil. How can God be good and at the same time be evil or responsible for evil? The answer is that the one true God is never evil, but good in the truest sense of good (Mark 10:19; Luke 18:19; Mat 19:17). Therefore the one true God was/is/never will be evil. Time plays an important part in answering this greatest of all paradoxes. God used his power to predestinate all things before this present cosmos (1Pet 1:19-20; Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:27-28; Rom 9:21-23; Jude 1:4; Prov 16:4; 1Pet 2:8; NM19, under #1) and even before time (2Tim 1:9; Titus 1:2), thereafter all came out of God (1Corinthians 8:6; see Rom 11:36, see Greek text) to do God's pre-creation wish or purpose or will. By doing this, in this way, the one true God separated his power of good from his power over evil and thus the one true God himself (who is good) is not doing evil. It is something out of the one true God which is now doing evil through God's power of predestination. We call that "something" the left side of God because it was set up before the creation through God's power of predestination. Any planning before the creation of our cosmos and its law and order is not sin since sin is the breaking of law, whether known or not known by the law breaker. We cannot say God himself was doing evil through predestination because evil did not exist when he predestinated evil, and because God himself has not participated in any evil, since the one true God is good, all good, and can never Himself do any evil. It was the power of evil, that came out of God at the beginning of creation, that has been doing the evil in the creation. God created evil (Isa 45:7) by predestinating it (see below), and always remember this predestination occurred before creation.

gp86As we will see in the God Papers it is through the following three things that the problem of evil and the paradoxes of God are answerable in a way that is not against the Law of Contradiction, and thus not against logic:

• God's power predestinated good and evil before the creation
• the element of time ⁽³⁾ or history
• and the true meaning of God's Name

Scripture shows us that God somehow, through his great power predestinates evil and those of evil to wrath and destruction (see below). Contrariwise, God predestinates others for mercy and glory (see below).

3. "Time" is used in different ways: (1) time is used as if it were chronology or history, or time is thought of as the passage of sequential events, "the passage of time;" (2) time is used as the method of reckoning and measuring events, "time can be reckoned by new moons or seasonal cycles (year) or clocks;" (3) similar to number 2 above, time is used as an era, instead of saying the age of communism, one may say the time of communism; (4) time is used as the fourth dimension in mathematical formulas; etc. When we speak of time, we mean chronology or history; when we speak of before time we mean before history, or before our cosmos.

Scripture shows God predestinating some to evil and wrath:

gp87(Remembering that predestination occurred before creation [gp85]):

• Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? 22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, [Rom 9:21-23, NKJV]
• For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ. [Jud 1:4, NKJV]
• The Lord has made all things for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. [Pro 16:4, NKJV]
• And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. [1 Pe 2:8, NKJV]

Some chosen to be good:

gp88»

• Eph 1:4 -- Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world [cosmos], that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will [Eph 1:4-5, NKJV; see Rom 9:21-23 above and "Predestination" paper (NM8)].

All generations chosen:

gp89»

• (from Hebrew text): [Lord] who has appointed and done, calling forth the generations from the beginning. [Isa 41:4]

Predestination is very difficult to understand

gp90»

• Paul said: "It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: 'I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.' Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?'" [Rom 9:16-19, NIV]

No one resists God's will. As we said this is very difficult to understand. But after you have read all of the God Papers, it will be easier for you to understand. Not only will it be easier for you to understand, but you may see WHY God has made this creation the way he has.

The Great Paradox

gp91God has ALL the power. This all-powerfulness must somehow include all the powers of evil. If God does not have in someway the power of both good and evil, then of course he does not have all the power.

gp92But the true God does have all the power. Thus, he has in someway both the power of good and the power of evil. Yet somehow God is good and God is love, and God will give good to all. This is a great paradox. How can one be good and at the same time predestinate some to evil? How can God be good and yet at the same time kill and destroy? How can God be love and at the same time kill and destroy? It would be impossible for God to be love and at the same time kill and destroy. Or it would be impossible at the same time God is love to also predestinate some to destruction. It would be impossible because it would be against the most fundamental law of reasoning: the Law of Contradiction (see But it is within the Law of Contradiction for God to predestinate some for mercy and some for destruction, if they were predestinated before creation (as we know it), before time (as we know it), before good (as we know it), before evil (as we know it), before law (as we know it), and consequently before sin (as we know it). One thing that may confuse us is that we are in the creation and under its laws and if we plan anything that uses evil and destruction it would be wrong, but the pre-creation power was not under our creation's laws.

Time Answers The Paradoxes

gp93The key to these paradoxes and most, if not all, paradoxes concerning the true God has to do with predestination, time, and God's Name. There is a secret to God. When you know this secret the paradoxes concerning God are answerable in a logical way. The answer to these paradoxes has to do with the phenomenon of time, as well as when God planned and gave power for evil in his creation, and lastly the fact that one true God cannot be good and evil at the same time. All this plus the meaning of God's Name, which carries time within it (the was, is, will be one), is the answer to the paradox about God being love and God creating evil. The secret of "time" is hidden in God's Name. There is a time element in God's Name. This will not make sense now, until you understand the meaning and significance of God's Name. But before we learn about his Name of names, we should learn about some of his other names and titles.

Name and Attributes of God Must Synchronize

gp94We have just examined some of the main attributes belonging to God. We must synchronize all these attributes and scriptures: all must agree without inherent contradiction. That is, any of the many attributes of God must not be against the Law of Contradiction. There are thousands of scriptures about God and his power. There are about 2555 times that the word God (Hebrew, elohim) is used in the Old Testament. There are about 7000 times in the Old Testament that the word Lord or Jehovah (Hebrew, yhwh or Yehowah) is used. And there are over a thousand times in the New Testament that the word God (Greek, theos) is used. There are many other titles belonging to God that are used in the Bible. It is highly important that we understand what these titles are and the meaning of God's names.

Titles or Names Of God

gp95Names or titles of God:

• Holy One [Isa 43:15; 48:17; 49:7]
• Creator [Isa 45:18; 48:13; 51:13]
• Savior [Isa 45:15, 21; 49:26; 60:16]
• Father [Isa 63:16]
• Husband of Israel [Isa 54:5; Jer 3:14; Hos 2:19]
• Shepherd [Psa 23:1]
• Redeemer [Isa 48:17; 49:7, 26; 60:16]
• Rock [Isa 26:4; Deut 32:4]
• First and Last [Isa 44:6; 48:12]
• Mighty One [Isa 49:26; 60:16]
• God Almighty [Gen 17:1]
• King [Psa 10:16; 89:18; 5:2]
• King of Israel [Isa 43:15; 44:6; 1Sam 12:12]
• King of Kings (that is, King of the whole earth) [Psa 47:2, 7; Zech 14:9]
• King of Glory [Psa 24:10]
• King of olam [Psa 29:10; Jer 10:10]
• King above all gods [Psa 95:3]
• Lord of kings [Dan 2:47]
• God of gods [Josh 22:22;"Gods of gods" in Hebrew; see Psa 136:2 & Deu 10:17]
• The Great God [Deu 10:17]
• Lord(s) of lords [Deut 10:17; Psa 136:3]
• Lord(s) above all gods [Psa 135:5]
• Most High [(Heb, 'elion or 'lyown) is used as a title of God (Gen 14:18-22; Num 24:16; Deut 32:8; etc.). But this Hebrew word ('elion) is also used when not speaking about God. It is translated as "uppermost" in Gen 40:17; "upper" in 2Kings 18:17; "high" in 2Chron 23:20; etc.]
 

These could be called titles or names of God. These are not all of God's titles or names. But none of these are the real God's Name. God has one Name he has chosen to best represent himself.

gp96There is something very important that we must know about God. By knowing the true Name of God we will be able to understand God much better, and we will better understand the paradoxes concerning God. The true Name of the God allows TIME to negate the paradoxes concerning God, and helps to answer the problem of evil.

Importance of a Name

Personal Names had Meaning

gp97Names of people in the Bible had more meaning to them than personal names have for us. To Israel personal names generally expressed some personal characteristic, some incident connected with birth, some hope, desire, or wish of the parents. The Biblical Hebrews had a tendency to play on names and find analogies or contrasts in them (see Ruth 1:20; 1Sam 25:3, 25; Rom. 9:6; etc.). For example the following play on the name "Dan."

• "Dan ['judge'] shall judge his people" (Gen 49:16).

gp98Personal names given at birth were sometimes changed later in life for various reasons. Sometimes the names given at birth expressed the time of birth, Hodesh (new moon). Sometimes the names indicated the place of birth, Zerubbabel (born in Babylon). Sometimes the condition of the mother called for a certain name for the child, Benoni (son of my pain). Sometimes the name of the child indicated the appearance of the child, Esau (hairy). Religious names were frequently given, the most simple being expressive of thanks to God for the gift of a child, Mahalaleel (praise to God).

gp99Some names of people were changed by God to indicate what God was going to do with or through that person:

• Abram's name ("exalted father") was changed to Abraham ("father of many") because God was going to make him a father of many nations (Gen 17:5);
• Sarai's name ("Jah is Prince") was changed to Sarah ("princess") because God was going to make her a mother of nations and kings of peoples would come from her (Gen 17:15-16);
• and Jacob's name ("supplanter" or heel catcher) was changed to Israel ("ruling with God" or "contender or soldier or prince of God") after he struggled with the angel (Gen 32:28).

The word "Israel" comes from two words: Sarah ("prince" or ruler or commander) and el ("god"). Princes had their names changed on their accession to the throne (2Kings 23:34; 24:17; note information under "name" in Unger's Bible Dictionary, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, etc.).

gp100In the New Testament names also were of a more distinctive nature than they are today. Names in the New Testament times, at least among the Biblical Jews, represented certain aspects of the person. For example, "Jesus" is the English translation of the Greek word "Iesous" which is the equivalent of the Hebrew "Joshua" (Jehoshua) meaning: "Jehovah (is) salvation." Thus, "she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt 1:21).

gp101In the New Testament names were also changed during one's life time for various reasons. For example, Simon's name was changed to Peter and Saul's name was changed to Paul.

Dual Meaning Of Names

gp102A name of a single person or quality can also refer to a whole nation or all those with that single quality:

• Israel, the individual, or Israel, the nation (see "Seed Paper" [PR 1]).
• Christ, the individual, or Christ, the whole Body of Spiritual people in Christ's Spirit (see New Mind Papers).
• Seed, the individual (Christ), or Seed in the sense of all those in the true Seed (see "Seed Paper" [PR 1]).
• God's Spirit, as individually distinctive versus other kinds of spirit, or any to all Spirits of the same nature as God's.
• Satan, as the individual, or any to all the spirits or angels of the same nature as Satan's.
• Beast, the individual, or the system of the Beast (see Beast Papers [PR 2, PR 3]).

A name of a person can also have a physical and Spiritual meaning: There is a physical Israel and a Spiritual Israel (see "Seed Paper" [PR 1]).

Great Significance of the Name

The Name in Scripture

gp103In the Bible there was a great significance placed on the Name of the true God. God revealed His Name to Moses when Moses asked Him for His name (Ex 3:13-16). His Name was a memento or memorial to all generations (Exo 3:15). Moses spoke in God's Name (Exo 5:23). God spoke to Moses and told him that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew God as "God Almighty" for God had not revealed His Name to them (Exo 6:2-3). God declared His Name to the people of the earth (land) by showing His great power against Egypt during the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt (Exo 9:13-16). God warned the Hebrews about taking His Name in vain (Exo 20:7). God said He would bless the Hebrews in every place in which He caused His Name to be remembered (Exo 20:24). God proclaimed His Name to Moses (Exo 33:19; 34:6).

gp104Before the Hebrews went into the promised land God instructed them to seek the place where God shall choose to put His Name (Deut 12:1-5). The Levites were chosen by God to stand and to minister in the Name of God (Deut 18:l, 5). Aaron and his sons were to put God's Name on the Israelites (Num 6:27). God's Name is called on Israel (Deu 28:10; 2Chron 7:14; Isa 56:5; Dan 9:19). False prophets caused Israel to forget God's Name and use the name of Baal ("Lord") instead (Jer 23:27). Israel would profane the Name of God among the other nations (Ezek 36:21-22). Jews in Egypt would also forget God's Name (Jer 44:26). But the God delivers for his Name's sake (Psa 23:3; 25:11; 143:11; Isa 48:9). Since God's Name was called on Israel, if Israel was totally destroyed, God's Name would not have remained (Josh 7:9; Isa 48:9). Therefore, God for his holy Name's sake, promises to give Israel a new heart and a new spirit so they can keep God's law and thus not profane God's Name (Ezek 36:21-27). God told Moses that He was going to raise up a prophet to the Israelites from among their brothers, and that God would put His words in the month of the prophet (note, John 12:49), and that this prophet would speak in God's Name (Deut 18:15-19).

gp105God told David through a messenger that David's seed would build a house for God's Name (2Sam 7:l-13). Solomon gave directions for the construction of the house for God's Name (l Kings 5:5-6). After Solomon finished building the house, God appeared to him and said to Solomon that His Name would be put there (l Kings 9:3). The temple was the house for God's Name (1Kings 8:15-20). God's Name was on Jerusalem and its temple (Jer 3:17; 2Kings 21:4, 7). The Name was on mount Zion (Isa 18:7).

gp106Jesus Christ came in his Father's Name (John 5:43; John 10:25; Mat 21:9; etc.). Jesus Christ in a Spiritual sense was the true temple of God (note John 2:19, 21; compare with 1Cor 6:19; 3:16-17; etc.). Jesus Christ's Father is God (John 8:54; see GP 2 of the God Papers). God the Father gave His Name to Jesus (John 17:11-12, NIV, see Greek text; see Jer 23:5-6; 33:14-16). This is Jesus Christ's new Name (Rev 3:12). Jesus Christ's new Name is better than the angels (Heb 1:3-4). Jesus did his work in his Father's Name (John 10:25). Jesus said that whatsoever a follower of him should ask in his Name He would do it (remember Jesus was in his Father's Name) (John 15:16).

gp107» After Jesus died, and then rose up to life again, it was said that those believing that Jesus was the Christ (the Messiah) would have life in Jesus’ Name (John 20:31). After this, people were baptized into the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38; 8:16) as directed by Christ (Mat 28:19). Those who were baptized into the Name of Jesus are in effect in the Name of Jesus and are said to be in the Name of Jesus (1 Cor. 5:4). Those in God’s Name are saved, have life, are justified, preach boldly, their sins are forgiven and they receive God’s Spirit, and signs and wonders are done by them (Acts 4:12; John 20:31; 1Cor 6:11; Acts 9:27, 29; Acts 2:38; 10:43; 1John 2:12; Acts 4:30). These are called in a Spiritual sense the "temple of God" (1Cor 6:19; 3:16-17; 2Cor 6:16).

gp108The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have the same Name (Matt 28:19). The 144,000 have the Name written on their foreheads (Rev 14:1). Remember those in the Name of Jesus Christ are in the Name of God because God gave His Name to Jesus Christ (John 17:11-12, NIV; Phil 2:9; see Jer 23:5-6; 33:14-16).

gp109God is taking out of the nations a people for his Name (Acts 15:2, 12-14; Amos 9:11-12). In fact all nations shall be gathered to the Name (Jer 3:17; 4:2). God has sons and daughters from the ends of the earth who will be called by His Name, "whom I [Lord, yhwh] created for my glory, whom I formed and made" (Isa 43:6-7, 21, NIV). After God's judgment he will change the people's speech and call all of them by the Name of God: "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, to call them all by the name of the Lord [yhwh], to serve Him with one consent (Zeph 3:9, see Hebrew text; see YLT; see Eph 3:15). All people will be in His Name, and call or pray in His Name. If you can call in someone's name, you can be called by that name.

gp110All through the Bible one can find where people call upon the Name of God and trust in His Name. By looking "name" up in Young's concordance or in Strong's concordance you can see how important God's Name was to His people.

But what is God's Name?

The Name of God

gp111As we've just seen there is great significance placed on God's Name in the Bible. The importance placed on God's Name has little to do with the pronunciation of the Name. Unlike today in many nations, the Hebrews placed more significance on the meaning of names. This is very important. We must not only take care to understand what is God's Name, more importantly we must understand the real meaning of God's Name. The paradoxes of God and the problem of evil can only be understood by knowing the true meaning and significance of God's Name.

gp112For some persons what follows is too detailed and repetitive, for others it is not detailed enough. We will repeat some things many times in order to make our point as clear as possible because we must break through a prevalent mindset imposed by tradition. See "More Details" at the end of GP 1 for more specific information on some topics.

What Is God's Name?

gp113We must go back to the book of Exodus to find God magnifying and revealing His Name to Moses:

• Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" (Exo 3:13)

And God answered the question:

• "I will be that I will be" (Exo 3:14).

[Hebrew = ]

If you don't have Hebrew fonts on your computer the following is a picture of "I will be" in Hebrew:  Get the fonts here.

gp114This is the literal English translation from the Hebrew text. But in the King James Version it reads: "I am that I am." The majority of English Bibles translates it this way. But this traditional translation is incorrect (See "I am" below ). I repeat, the "I am" translation is incorrect. Look at the following examples:

• In the note for Exodus 3:14 in the American Standard Version it correctly says the verse is: I will be that I will be.
• In a footnote for The NIV Study Bible, it has I will be what I will be.
• In most Hebrew lexicons it shows that this phrase in Exodus 3:14 should be translated, I will be that I will be, or I will be who I will be.
• In the Englishman's Hebrew-English Old Testament, by Joseph Magil (printed by Zondervan in 1974), Exodus 3:14 reads: I will be that I will be.
• According to The Pentateuch And Haftorahs: Hebrew Text, English Translation And Commentary, edited by Dr. J. H. Hertz, C. H (former Chief Rabbi), published by Soncino Press, London (1956), in its commentary it states: "Most moderns follow Rashi in rendering [Hebrew - ehyeh asher ehyeh] 'I will be what I will be.'"

[But even though this is close to how Exodus 3:14 should be translated J. D. Hertz still allowed the traditional rendering of Exodus 3:14 to be used in the book's English translation of the verse.]

• According to The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915 Edition) under "God, names of," page 1266, we see that it should be translated: I will be that I will be.
• By looking up the Hebrew words in The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, by Benjamin Davidson we see that the correct translation is: I will be that I will be.
• Even the Bible in Today's English Version, published by the American Bible Society in 1976, has in a note for Ex 3:14, I will be who I will be.
• And in the New International Version (1978) it has a note for Exodus 3:14, "I will be what I will be."

• And from the Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, "I shall be the one who will be."

gp115The "that," or "who," or "what," in "I will be ... I will be" is a relative pronoun, 'asher (# 834), which can be translated in several ways such as: "that" or "who," or "what" or "when," etc (see Lexicon).

Exodus 3:12 v. Exodus 3:14

gp116To transliterate I will be that I will be from Exodus 3:14 into English without the vowels we get:

• 'hyh 'shr 'hyh.

[Hebrew = hy<h.a, rv,a] hy<h.a, ]

gp117The root form of the Hebrew verb translated into I will be in Exodus 3:14 is hyh, a to be verb (Strong's # 1961). With the addition of ' [a] to hyh [hyh] the word becomes, 'hyh [ hy<h.a,], and is now in the imperfect, first person, and singular form (Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, note Table N; Gesenius' Grammar, §40a-c; The Essentials of Biblical Hebrew, by Yates, p.41). ⁽⁴⁾

4. The Hebrew hyh is a to be verb (Strong's # 1961). The Hebrew 'hyh perfectly conforms to the rules of an imperfect verb when a verb is united with its personal pronoun fragment. When the first-person-pronoun fragment ( a ) is attached to the verb hyh (hyh) together (hyha) they mean, I will-be.

If you don't have Hebrew fonts on your computer the following is a picture of "I will be" in Hebrew: Get the fonts here.

gp118This is the same verb as in Exodus 3:12: "I will be with you." Most English versions of the Bible translate Exodus 3:12 as, I will be, even the versions that translate Exodus 3:14 as, I am. This is important, so I'll repeat:

• 'hyh [ hy<h.a,] appears in both Exodus 3:12 and 3:14. In 3:12 it is translated, "I will be with you." But for some reason it is translated as, "I am " in Exodus 3:14 when pertaining to God's Name. In most other places in the Bible in most translations it is translated, "I will be." In fact, in 41 other places in the Bible in most English translations it is mostly translated as, "I will be." (See below, "I will be in Context") 

gp119Notice the Kings James Version of Exodus 3:12 as compared to Exodus 3:14:

• And he said, Certainly I will be [ hy<h.a,] with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. [Exodus 3:12]

• And God said unto Moses, I am that I am [hy<h.a, rv,a] hy<h.a,]: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am [hy<h.a,] hath sent me unto you. [Exodus 3:14]

gp120Do you see it? The same Hebrew word translated into I am in Exodus 3:14 is translated I will be in Exodus 3:12. Furthermore, this same word is translated into I will be dozens of other times in the Bible (See " But why is it traditionally translated I am? Yes, something very strange is going on here with this common mistranslation of I am, and that something has to do with the influence of Grecian philosophy on Biblical study, as well as the real reason -- the "other-mind." We'll examine more on Grecian philosophy later.

God Revealed His Name To Moses

God Restates His Name

gp121Right after God told Moses that his Name was I will be that I will be, and for Moses to tell Israel that I will be had sent him (Exo 3:14), God rephrased his Name and said unto Moses:

• "You shall say to the children of Israel that Yehowah [hw"Ohy>] ... has sent me [Moses] to you [Israel]" (Exo 3:15).

• "and say to them, 'Yehowah [hw"Ohy>]the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me [Moses]" (Exo 3:16).

gp122After Moses asked God his Name, He answered with I will be repeating it twice, then He told Moses to tell Israel that his Name was I will be, and right after this He told Moses to tell Israel that his Name was Yehowah [hw"Ohy>: yhwh.

God's Name is an imperfect verb used as a noun.

gp123In Hebrew verbs were used as nouns. Without its vowels, Yehowah is spelled yhwh. Yehowah as with "I will be" of Exodus 3:14 is an imperfect to be verb in the masculine gender, except that it is in the 3^rd person (see BDBG Hebrew and English Lexicon; Gesenius' Gram. § 40 & § 75s; see below). It is not a noun per se, but it is used in the Bible as a proper noun, and from context we can call it a noun (Gesenius' Gr