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Символично, Второто пришествие идва на "Облаци" ("Облаци от свидетели"), което символизира подготвените с чисти сърца, които първи ще го разпознаят и последват. Това се потвържава от казаното в Откр. 19, че управниците на този свят ще се надигнат и воюват срещу него, а 'Червения змей' (Комунизма), ще се опита да го убие. Според Библията, раждането е веднага след Червената революция, 1917 г. и след края на Първата Световна Война 1918 г. Според думите на самия Исус, "дали ще намери вяра" и притчата за "Сватбата" разбираме, че е възможно Християнството да преследва господа на Второто пришествие - идващ с "Ново име" (Откр.19:12,13), подобно на Фарисеите преследвали Исус. В такъв случай, дори най-вярващите християни ще бъдат порицани с думите, "махнете се от мене вие злодейци". Затова е казано, "бдете и се молете за да предстоите пред него". Затова прочетете откровението на Принципа с много моливта. ВТОРОТО ПРИШЕСТВИЕ Исус ясно предсказва своето завръщане (Мат. 16:27). Но Той добавя, че никой не знае за този ден и час, нито ангелите, нито дори Той самият (Мат. 24:36). Затова е общоприето мисленето, че не трябва да се спекулира относно датата, мястото и начина по който ще стане Второто пришествие. Въпреки това, от думите на Исус, “А за този ден и час никой не знае... а само Отец (Мат. 24:36), и от стихът, “Наистина господ Йехова няма да направи нищо без да открие своите намерения на слугите си, пророците” (Амос 3:7 ), можем да разберем, че Бог, който знае денят и часът, обезателно ще разкрие всички тайни за Второто пришествие на Своите пророци, преди да го осъществи. Въпреки заявлението на Исус, че Господ ще дойде като “крадец” (Откровение 3:3), писано е също така, че за тези, които са в светлината, идването на Господа няма да бъде скрито (І Ефесяни 5:4-6). Ако погледнем събитията, съпровождащи първото идване на Исус, осъзнаваме, че той идва като крадец за свещениците и книжниците, намиращи се в тъмнина, но за семейството на Йоан Кръстител, което е в светлината, Бог ясно разкри предстоящото раждане на Христос. Когато Исус се ражда, Бог открива тази тайна на тримата мъдреци, на Симеон, Анна и пастирите. Исус казва: “Но внимавайте на себе си, да не би да натегнат сърцата ви от преяждане, пиянство, житейски грижи и ви постигне оня ден внезапно като примка; защото така ще дойде върху всички, които живеят по лицето на цялата земя. Но бдете всякога, и молете се, за да сполучите да избегнете всичко, що предстои да стане, и да застанете пред Човешкия Син.” (Лука 21:34-36) От думите на Исус става ясно, че мястото, времето и начинът на Неговото завръщане ще бъдат открити само на дълбоко вярващите хора, които бодърствуват, за да могат да се подготвят за деня на Второто пришествие. Историята на Провидението за възстановяване дава не малко примери за това как Бог неизменно е предупреждавал пророците за Своите намерения, изпращайки им откровения. За това свидетелстват такива събития като: съда чрез потоп по времето на Ной, разрушението на Содом и Гомор, раждането на Исус. Очевиден се явява и фактът, че и при Второто пришествие на Господ, Бог ще предаде Своето Слово чрез вярващите, намиращи се в светлината на истината, тези – които имат уши, за да чуят и очи, за да видят, или ще им изпрати откровения за това, което ще се случи, както се казва в Библията: “И в последните дни, казва Бог, ще излея от Духа Си на всяка твар; и синовете ви и дъщерите ви ще пророкуват, и юношите ви ще виждат видения, и старците ви ще сънуват сънища.” (Деяния 2:17” ). РАЗДЕЛ 1. Кога Христос ще дойде отново. Времето на Второто пришествие на Господ ние наричаме “последни дни”. Както е казано в гл. “Есхатология”, сега ние живеем в последните дни, а това означава, че е настъпило времето за връщането на Христа. От историята на Провидението за възстановяване се вижда, че Исус идва 2000 г. след началото на провиденциалната епоха на възстановяване – епохата на Стария завет. Съгласно Принципа на възстановяване чрез изплащане, Второто пришествие на Христа трябва да се очаква 2000 г. след началото на провиденциалната епоха на продължаване на възстановяването – епохата на Новия завет. Този период беше необходим за възстановяване чрез изплащане на предходния период на основа на субстанциалната идентичност на времето. Както вече подробно беше казано, скоро след поражението на Германия и кайзера като прототип на Адам на страната на сатана в Първата световна война, Сталин – прототипът на Господа на Второто пришествие на страната на сатана, идва на власт и създава комунистическия свят. Това означава, че е дошло времето, когато Христос ще се върне на земята, за да възстанови чрез изплащане идеалния свят на базата на съ-владение, съ-управление и съ-етика. От това трябва да направим извода, че периодът на Второто пришествие е започнал скоро след Първата световна война. РАЗДЕЛ 2. По какъв начин ще се върне Христос? Гледната точка на Библията Чрез притчи и символи Бог винаги е откривал на човечеството същността на Своята воля, така че живеещите в тази или онази епоха хора да разберат в зависимост от своето интелектуално и духовно ниво, какви изисквания е проявявало Провидението към съответното време. Фактът, че Бог е използвал притчи и символи, които са намерили отражение в Библията, неизбежно е водил до възникване на противоречиви тълкувания. В това се състои основната причина за разделението на Църквата. Следователно, за правилното разбиране на Библията е необходимо да се намери правилния ъгъл за разбирането й. Нека вземем за пример Йоан Кръстител. Тъй като 2000 г. сме чели Библията убедени в това, че Йоан Кръстител е изпълнил мисията си, се създава впечатлението, че Библията потвърждава тази гледна точка. Но ако я проанализираме под друг ъгъл, то с цялата си яснота ще се разкрие разбирането, че в действителност Йоан Кръстител не е съумял да изпълни отговорността си. И още. До сега много от нас са чели Библията имайки вече създадена представа за това, че Господ ще се яви на облаци, съпровождан от знамения и чудеса. Това мнение се онова на думите на Исус: “...Тогава ще се яви на Небето знамението на човешкия син; и тогава ще заплачат всички земни племена, като видят човешкия син, идещ на небесните облаци със сила и голяма слава” (Мат. 24:30). Ако се придържаме към буквалното значение на Библейските думи можем да си помислим, че Библията действително ни подтиква към такова заключение. Обаче, научният манталитет на съвременния човек абсолютно не възприема мисълта за това, че Господ ще дойде на облаци. За да се разбере истинското значение на подобен род стихове, е необходимо по-дълбоко изучаване на Библията, нейното проанализиране от друга гледна точка. Този нов поглед върху Библията е подсказан чрез изследването на стиховете за Йоан Кръстител, които дадохме като пример по-горе. Пророк Малахия е предсказал, че преди идването на Месията ще се яви Илия (Малахия 4:5). За това много евреи са вярвали, че възнеслият се на небето в огнена колесница Илия ще се завърне по същия начин и с нетърпение са чакали деня, когато това ще се случи. В противоречие с това обаче, Исус с увереност заявява, че Илия е Йоан Кръстител, синът на Захария. Ако вярваме на свидетелството на Исус, то завръщането на Илия изобщо не е трябвало да става по такъв чудотворен начин чрез неговото слизане от небето, както е очаквал еврейският народ; в действителност то се е осъществило чрез раждането на Йоан Кръстител. Много християни до ден днешен вярват, че Исус ще се завърне на облаци. Обаче завръщането на Илия в образа на Йоан Кръстител ни подсказва възможността за завръщането на Христа чрез раждането Му на земята, както това е било при първото Му пришествие. Нека отново проанализираме Библейските стихове за Второто пришествие от този нов ъгъл. По време на първото пришествие на Христа много просветени хора в Израел са мислели, че Месията ще се роди в града Витлеем в Давидовия род (Мат. 2:5-6). Несъмнено обаче е и това, че много евреи, четейки пророчеството на Данаил, са вярвали в идването на Месията на облаци: “Гледах в нощните видения и ето, един като човешки син идеше с небесните облаци и стигна до Древния по Дни; и доведоха го пред Него” (Данаил 7:13). Дори след разпъването на Исус сред евреите са се намерили много, които не са вярвали, че Той е Месията въз основа на това, че е бил роден “в плът” и са преследвали християните. Много християни утвърждават, че пророчеството на Данаил се отнася до Второто пришествие на Господа. Както се вижда от думите в Библията обаче, в епохата на Стария завет целта на Бог за осъществяване провидението за възстановяване е пришествието на Исус: “Защото всички пророци и законът пророкуваха до Йоана” (Мат. 11:13) и също: “Понеже Христос изпълнява целта на закона, да се оправдае всеки, който вярва.” (Римляни 10:4). Следователно, никой дори не е могъл да си представи второ пришествие на Месията до момента, в който самият Исус не започва да говори за Своето завръщане. Затова е съвършено очевидно, че никой от евреите по времето на Исус не е могъл да си мисли, че пророчеството на Данаил се отнася за Второто пришествие на Месията. Те са смятали, че в него се съдържа предсказание за това, което ще се случи при първото и единствено идване на Господа. Въпреки основаващите се на Библията очаквания на много дълбоко вярващи евреи, Исус не се е спуснал от облаците, а се ражда в плът. И така, ние трябва да преразгледаме Библията, допускайки възможността за това, че Второто пришествие на Христа няма да стане по чудотворен начин, а така, както и първото. Завръщането на Христа ще се осъществи чрез раждане на земята. Исус ни остави много пророчества, касаещи пътя на Господа на Второто пришествие след Неговото завръщане: “...Така ще бъде и човешкият син в своя ден. Но първом той трябва да пострада много и да бъде отхвърлен от това поколение.” (Лука 17:24-25). Но ако наистина Господ на Второто пришествие се яви на облаци в Божията слава под тръбните звуци на ангелите, както е казано в Библията (Мат. 24:30-31), нима Той няма да бъде приет с готовност и почести от човечеството, колкото и грешно да е то? Дошлият по такъв начин Господ не може да бъде отхвърлен и гонен. Защо тогава Исус е предсказал, че Господ го очаква толкова нещастна участ след завръщането Му? Осланящият се на предсказанията на Малахия еврейски народ по онова време с благоволение е очаквал завръщането на Илия от небесата – предвестника на идващия Месия. Вместо това Исус, човек с беден произход, идва като крадец и се обявява за Месия по времето, когато еврейският народ още не е бил чувал никакви новини за явяването на Илия. Затова хората са се отнесли с презрение към Исус и са започнали да Го преследват. Размишлявайки върху така стеклите се обстоятелства, Исус предсказва, че по време на Второто пришествие погледите на християните, очакващи Месията, ще бъдат отново приковани към небето. Следователно, те по-скоро ще започнат да преследват Христа, роден в плът и появил се внезапно, като крадец. Те ще го заклеймят като еретик, както е станало с Исус. Ето защо Исус предсказва, че Господ ще пострада и ще бъде отхвърлен от своето поколение. Това пророчество може да се изпълни само в случай, че Христос се завърне в плът, а не на облаци. Исус казва: “Казвам ви, че ще им отдаде правото скоро. Обаче когато дойде Човешкият Син, ще намери ли вяра на земята?” (Лука 18:8).С приближаването на последните дни, все повече християни се стремят да развият силна вяра в себе си. Възможно ли е да предположим, че те ще я загубят при Второто пришествие на Господа в случай, че Той в буквален смисъл се спусне от небесните облаци, съпровождан от тръбния глас на ангелите и Божията слава? И така, това пророчество също не може да се осъществи, ако Христос се върне по свръхестествен начин. По времето на Исус, много евреи са смятали, че Месията ще бъде роден във Витлеем и ще застане пред тях като цар. Но те са предполагали, че това ще се случи само след като от небето се спусне Илия. (Мат. 2:6) Между другото, макар и никакъв Илия да не се е появил, млад човек от Назарет, роден в семейството на дърводелец, неочаквано обявява себе си за Месия. Разбираемо е, че на Исус Му е било трудно да намери сред евреите поне един човек с толкова отдадена вяра, който да Го последва, пренебрегвайки дори смъртта. Исус се оплаквал от така стеклите се обстоятелства, страдайки за това, че нещо подобно може да се повтори когато Той се завърне. Той е предвиждал, че по време на Второто пришествие погледът на вярващите отново ще бъде обърнат към небето в очакване, че Христос ще се завърне на облаците на Славата. Следователно, когато Исус действително се завърне на земята в облика на човек от скромен произход, той може би няма да намери вяра, както се е случило при първото Му идване. Това пророчество от евангелието на Лука може да се осъществи само при условие, че идващият Христос се роди на земята. Някои учени тълкуват този стих другояче. Те се придържат към мнението, че съдбата на вярващите в Последните дни ще бъде да имат тежки изпитания, което ще доведе до загубване на вярата им. По пътя на възстановяване обаче, дори най-страшните мъчения не могат да сломят истински вярващите хора. Още по-малко вероятно е, че това ще стане в Последните дни, когато християните както никога до тогава ще се стремят да преодолеят последните изпитания на вярата си. Природата на вярата се състои в това, че колкото повече изпитания и страдания имаме, толкова по-упорито търсим Бога и спасението. Веднъж Исус казва: “В оня ден мнозина ще ми рекат: Господи, господи, не в Твоето ли име пророкувахме, не в Твоето ли име бесове гонехме, и не в Твоето ли име направихме много велики дела? Но тогава ще им заявя: Аз никога не съм ви познавал; идете си от мене вие, които вършите беззакония”. (Мат. 7:22-23).Ако вярата на християните е толкова силна, че те са способни да вършат чудеса в името на Исус, то колко по-силно ще се разгори нейния пламък, ако Христос се яви на облаците на великата Слава? С колко по-голямо рвение те ще започнат да Му служат? Защо тогава думите на Исус ни навеждат на мисълта, че Той се кани да отблъсне толкова предани християни, когато се завърне? И ако Той действително постъпи по такъв начин, тогава нито един вярващ няма да се спаси в Последните дни. Това пророчество също не може да се осъществи, ако Исус се завърне на облаци. По всичко личи, че по времето на Исус е имало не малко хора, чиято велика вяра им е позволявала да правят чудеса в името на Бог. Но тъй като те са вярвали, че преди идването на Месията от небето ще се спусне Илия, им е било трудно да разпознаят, че сред тях вече живее Илия в облика на Йоан Кръстител, а още повече, че самият Йоан е отричал това. Така те не приемат Исус като Месия и го изгонват от своето общество и Той е принуден да ги напусне в болка и скръб. Може с почти пълна увереност да се каже, че по същия начин по времето на Второто пришествие на Христа, онези християни, които очакват Неговото чудотворно и славно явяване на облаците, ще започнат да Го преследват, ако Той дойде в плът. Тогава независимо от дълбочината и силата на тяхната вяра и преданост, Господ няма да има друг избор, освен да ги напусне, защото в очите на Бога те грешат против Него. Цял списък от пророчества от 17-та глава от Евангелието на Лука, отнасящи се за Последните дни, няма да се сбъднат, ако Христос се завърне на облаци. Те могат да бъдат обяснени само ако се предположи, че завръщането на Христа ще стане чрез раждането Му на земята. Нека изследваме всяко едно от тези пророчества по-подробно. 1) “...Божието царство не иде така, щото да се забелязва” (Лука 17:20) Ако Господ се яви на облаци, то настъпването на Божието царство ще бъде забелязано от всички. То вече е дошло на земята при Първото пришествие с раждането на Исус. Еврейският народ обаче не е могъл да го види, защото очаквайки завръщането на Илия от небесата, той не е повярвал в Исус. По същия начин по време на Второто пришествие Божието царство ще дойде на земята с раждането на Христа, обаче християните, предполагащи, че Той ще дойде на облаци, няма да повярват в Господа и за това няма да видят Неговото царство. 2) “Божието царство е във Вас” (Лука 17:21). По времето на Исус всички, които са вярвали в Него и са го следвали, вече са живели в Божието царство в сърцата си. Тъй като Господът на Второто пришествие ще бъде роден на земята, Небесното царство и този път ще настъпи първо в сърцата на тези, които вярват в Него и Го следват. Според нарастването на броя на тези хора, от тях ще се образуват народи и държави, като Небесното царство постепенно ще става външна, видима и обозрима реалност. Значи, Исус е искал да каже, че Небесното царство няма да се реализира с щракване на пръсти, както би станало, ако Той би се върнал на облаци. 3) “...Ще дойдат дни, когато ще пожелаете да видите поне един от дните на Човешкия син, но няма да видите.” (Лука 17:22) Ако Христос се спусне от облаците под тръбния звук на архангела, тогава всеки ще може да Го види. Кой тогава би пожелал да види един ден от дните на Човешкия син и няма да го види? Въпреки това Исус е предсказвал такъв обрат на събитията. По време на Първото пришествие на Исус, денят на Човешкия Син също е настъпил на земята след Неговото раждане, обаче неповярвалите в Христа евреи не са могли да го видят. По време на Второто пришествие денят на Човешкия Син също ще настъпи с раждането Му на земята, но много християни, убедени в чудотворното пришествие на Господа на облаци, няма да повярват в Него. Макар денят на Човешкия Син да е дошъл, те няма да са в състояние да го видят. 4) “И като ви рекат, ето, там е! Или ето, тук е! Да не отидете, нито да тичате подире им!” (Лука 17:23) В последните дни, достигналите до определено духовно ниво християни, могат да получат откровение: “Ти си Господа!” Не знаейки Принципа и не разбирайки на базата на какво им се дава подобно откровение, те най-вероятно ще обявят себе си за Господа на Второто пришествие и ще станат антихристи още до появата на Христа. (Възкресение 2.2.6). Следователно, Исус е предупреждавал вярващите, такива думи да не ги поставят в ситуация на обърканост и да ги отклонят от пътя на истината. 5) “Защото, както светкавицата, когато блесне от единия край на хоризонта, свети до другия край на хоризонта, така ще бъде и Човешкият Син в Своя ден.” (Лука 17:24). Когато Исус се ражда, вестта за появата на бял свят на еврейския цар, достига дори до цар Ирод и разтърсва цял Ерусалим (Мат. 2:2-3). А по време на Второто пришествие, нивото на развитие на средствата за комуникации и транспорт ще позволят мълниеносно да се разпространи вестта за появата на Христа по цялата земя от изток до запад. 6) “И както е било в дните на Ной, така ще бъде и в дните на Човешкия Син” (Лука 17:26). Знаейки за надигащия се съд с потопа, Ной призовавал хората да дойдат в ковчега му, но те не са се вслушали в неговите увещания и загиват. В последните дни Христос ще се върне в плът и ще призовава хората в своя ковчег на истината. Обаче християните, упорито гледащи в небето и очаквайки Неговото възвръщане на облаци, няма да се вслушат в думите на истината, провъзгласена на земята. Вместо това те ще отхвърлят Господа като еретик. Безгрижни както и по времето на Ной, те няма да могат да послужат на Божията воля в провидението. 7) “Който иска да спечели живота си, ще го загуби, а който го загуби, ще го опази.” (Лука 17:33). Длъжен ли е някой да рискува живота си, следвайки Господа, ако той дойде на облаци под тръбния глас на архангела? Доколкото Исус ще се върне чрез собственото си физическо раждане, Той ще изглежда еретик в очите на тези християни, които твърдо са убедени в Неговото пришествие на облаци. Затова последователите на Христос са длъжни да бъдат готови да приемат даже смъртта. Този стих означава, че ако хората повярват на Христос и Го последват, рискувайки при това даже собствения си живот, те ще живеят. Ако напротив, те отстъпят под влиянието на светските обстоятелства, опълчвайки се против него и отричайки се от него, това означава, че ги очаква смърт. 8) “...където е трупът, там ще се съберат и орлите” (Лука 17737). Така Исус отговаря на въпроса на учениците си за това къде ще се осъществи Второто пришествие. Ние помним, че хищните птици са се спуснали върху гълъба и гургулицата, които не са били разсечени на олтара от Авраам. От това следва, че сатана винаги търси възможност да завладее това, което не е осветено. Изхождайки от това, ние можем да обясним значението на загадъчния отговор на Исус. Подобно та това – как орлите се събират около трупа, за да го изкълват, а злите духове се събират около тези, които са духовно мъртви, Господ – източникът на живота, ще дойде там, където има пълноценен духовен живот. Следователно, със своите думи Исус е предполагал, че Господ ще се появи сред дълбоко и искрено вярващите хора. По време на Второто пришествие на Христос те ще се съберат на едно място, водени от много духове (Възкресение). Това ще бъде царството на живота, където ще пребивава Господ. Исус се ражда в средата на избрани хора, почитащи Бог най-ревностно. Той се явява като Месия, особено за тези от тях, чиято вяра е била толкова силна, че са били готови да Го последват и да станат негови ученици. Доколкото Христос на Второто пришествие ще бъде роден на земята, в Библията се казва: “И роди тя мъжко дете, което ще пасе всички народи с железен жезъл; и въздигнато беше нейното дете към Бога и престола Му”. (Откровение 12:5).Железният жезъл тук означава Божието Слово, с което Господ ще съди грешния свят и което ще възстанови Небесното царство на земята. По-рано ние подробно обяснихме (Есхатология 3.2.2), че съдът с огън – това е съдът чрез Словото (Яков 3:6). Следователно, Словото на Исус, с което в последните дни ще бъде осъждан човека (Йоан 12:48) – това е същото Слово, при помощта на което нечестивите хора са подложени на съдния огън (2 Петрово 3:7) , както и диханието на Господ, с което Той сразява “беззаконниците” (2 Ефесяни 2:8). Словото на Исус се нарича също “дъхът на устата Му” и “жезълът от устата Му” (Исая 11:4). То е символизирано чрез железния жезъл: “И Той ще ги управлява с желязна тояга; те ще се строшат като грънчарски съдове” (Откр. 2:27).Стихът говори за дете от мъжки пол, родено от жена и приведено към Бог на Неговия престол. Кой от родените от жена е достоен да седне на Божия престол и да управлява над всички народи с Божието Слово? Това може да бъде само Христос на Второто пришествие, Който ще се роди на земята като Цар на царете и ще построи на нея Небесното Царство. В Евангелието от Матея се говори за четирите нечестиви жени в рода на Исус (Матея 172,5,6.) Това показва, че спасителят на човечеството, който идва за спасяването на всички потомци на грешния род, е длъжен да се роди като безгрешен човек, произхождащ от грешен род. Много християни мислят, че жената в този стих символизира църквата. Такова тълкувание е основано върху тълкуванието за очакване на Господа на облаци. Някои християни вярват, че Второто пришествие на Христос ще стане чрез пришествието на Светия Дух (Деяния 8:15-17), когато Исус намира своята обител в сърцата на хората (Йоана 14:20). Обаче Исус е пребивавал в сърцата на истински вярващите от момента на своето възкресение и пришествието на Светия Дух в деня на Петдесятницата (Деяния 2:4). Ако това в същност е било Второто пришествие, тогава то вече е станало преди 2000 години. Освен това, някои християнски църкви учат, че Исус ще се върне като дух. Обаче Исус се появява пред своите ученици на третия ден след своето възкресение от мъртвите. От тогава Той свободно прихожда при много християни, достигнали високо духовно ниво и им дава своите наставления. Това говори за това, че по подобен начин Второто пришествие се е състояло за пръв път преди 2000 г. Ако разбираме духовното завръщане на Исус като Второ пришествие, то няма причини да не го очакваме като исторически ден на осъществяване на нашите най-съкровени надежди. Независимо от това, че учениците на Исус често са се срещали с неговото духовно ”Аз” след възкресението Му, те продължават да очакват Второто пришествие. Натрапва се изводът, че те не са очаквали появяването на Исус като дух по време на Неговото Второ пришествие. Например когато явявайки се духовно на Йоан, Исус му казва: “Навярно ида скоро!”, Йоан отговаря “Амин, ела, Господи Исусе!” (Откровение 27:20). От тези думи е видно, че Исус и Йоан ясно са осъзнавали разликата между духовното появяване на Исус и Второто пришествие, което означава, че Христос няма да се върне като дух, а ще се роди на земята, както това е било при Неговото първо пришествие. Съгласно Принципа на сътворяването, съществуват няколко причини за завръщането на Христос като земен човек. Бог създава както невидимия, така и видимия свят. След това Той създава хората, надарявайки ги както с духовен (невидим), така и с физически (видим) аспект, предполагайки, че осъществявайки Неговата Благословия, те ще управляват над двата свята. Обаче поради грехопадението на Адам хората изгубват правото си да бъдат господари на двата свята. В резултат на това Творението е лишено от своите истински собственици и “съвкупно стене и се мъчи и до днес, очаквайки откриването на Божиите синове”, способни да го управляват. (Римляни 8:19-22) Исус – съвършеният Адам, дошъл като съвършен господар на двата свята (1 Коринтяни 15:27), е бил длъжен да “привие” към себе си вярващите (Римляни 11:17) и да създаде с тях абсолютно единство, за да възстанови правото на хората да владеят над света на Творението. Обаче, когато евреите въстават против Исус, Бог e принуден да допусне , че Той е пожертвал своето тяло на кръста като откуп за възстановяването на човечеството. Доколкото физическото тяло на Исус е било отдадено в ръцете на сатана, физическото спасение на света остава неосъществено. Исус напуска този земен свят, обещавайки да се върне и да завърши спасението, осъществено само духовно. При това на земята още не е имало нито един човек, който би достигнал съвършенството и духовно , и физически и който би станал властелин на невидимия и на видимия свят и който би ги довел до хармония. В това се състои причината за това, че Христос не може да се върне само в духовно тяло. Както и при първото пришествие, Той трябва да се яви в облика на човек и да достигне духовно и физическо съвършенство. Затова, “прививайки” към себе си цялото човечество както духовно, така и физически, Той е длъжен да направлява хората по пътя на съвършенството в духа и плътта им към получаването на правото да господстват над невидимия и видимия свят. Предполага се, че Исус ще възстанови Небесното царство на земята, ще стане Истински Родител на възстановеното човечество и Цар на Божието Царство. Обаче поради неверието на еврейския народ, Той не е могъл да осъществи тази Божия воля, а вместо това е бил принуден да отиде на кръста за това, а в последствие да се върне и обезателно да я изпълни. В съответствие с това при Второто пришествие Христос отново носи отговорността за създаването на Небесното царство на земята и за това да стане Истински Родител и цар на човечеството. В това се състои още една от причините за това, че Христос на Второто пришествие е длъжен да бъде роден на земята, както това е станало при Неговото първо пришествие. Изкуплението на греховете е възможно само при земния живот (Творение 6:3.2), затова за изкуплението на нашите грехове Исус е длъжен да дойде на земята в плът. Спасението, което донася Исус чрез разпятието, е ограничено в духовното измерение. То не ни освобождава от първородния грях, който се предава чрез нашите физически тела и продължава да действа вътре в нас. Ето защо Христос е длъжен да се върне и да завърши спасението на човечеството, включвайки спасението на физическо ниво. Очевидно, че Христос не може да достигне това, обладавайки само духовно тяло. Той е длъжен да се яви и във физическо тяло, както при Своето първо пришествие. По такъв начин ние достигаме до ясното разбиране на това, че завръщането на Христос няма да бъде духовно, а ще се осъществи физически, подобно на първото пришествие. Даже имайки пред вид хипотезата за това, че Христос ще се възвърне духовно, не трябва да изпитваме нодоумение при мисълта, че духът, съществуващ извън времето и пространството и достъпен само за възприемане чрез духовните сетива, може да възседне на материален облак. От друга страна, ако на Второто пришествие е съдено да стане чрез появяването на Христос в плът на облак, тогава възниква въпроса как Той ще се удържи във въздуха? И как ще се определи мястото на Неговото пребиваване до Неговото появяване? Възможно е някои хора да започнат да възразяват против такава постановка на въпроса, утвърждавайки, че за всемогъщият Бог няма нищо невъзможно. Още повече, Бог не може да игнорира установените от самия Него закони и принципи. Освен това, няма никаква необходимост от това Бог да осъществява Своето Провидение въпреки тези принципи: да принуди Христос, Който е длъжен да дойде в плът, като обикновен човек, да се намира в извън земното пространство, за да може след това да се яви на облаците. И така, разгледаните доводи убедително доказват, че Второто пришествие на Христос ще стане чрез Неговото раждане на земята. Какво е значението на стиха, в който се говори за завръщането на Христос на облаци Доколкото завръщането на Христос ще стане чрез Неговото раждане на земята, уместно е да се попита какво означават Библейските пророчества за пришествие на Господ на облаци. За да се отговори на този въпрос, е необходимо преди всичко да се разбере, какво представляват облаците сами по себе си. Следващите думи от Библията се явяват типични в това отношение: “Ето, иде с облаците; и ще Го види всяко око, и ония, които Го прободоха; и всички земни племена ще възридаят за Него. Така е; Амин.”(Откр. 1:7”)От този стих е ясно, че всеки ще има възможността да види Христос, когато Той се завърне. След разпятието на Исус само светият Стефан, приел мъченическа смърт и няколко дълбоко вярващи, духовно отворени християни, са можали да видят Исус, седящ до дясната ръка на Бог. Ако на Исус е определено да дойде от Духовния свят като дух, то само тези вярващи, на които се е отворило духовното зрение, ще бъдат способни да Го видят, т.е. не всяко око ще види Христос, когато Той се върне. И така, Библейското пророчество за това, че всеки ще види Христос, може да се осъществи само ако Той се върне в плът. Доколкото физическото тяло не може да седи на облаци, натрапва се изводът, че облаците в този случай символизират нещо друго. В разглеждания откъс се говори също, че даже тези, които са пронизали Исус, ще видят Неговото завръщане. Известно ни е, че те са били римски войници, но в същност никой от тях няма да може да види завръщането на Господ, защото за това е необходимо те да възкръснат. Обаче в Библията е казано, че само дълбоко вярващите християни, участващи в първото възкресение, ще могат да възкръснат при появяването на Христос. Останалите духове ще бъдат възкресени само след хиляди години в Царството на Христос (Битие 20:4,5). За това думите “Тези, които са Го пронизали”, са метафорическа препратка за други хора, а не за римските войници. В действителност тези думи се отнасят за християните по времето на Второто пришествие, които твърдо ще се държат за своята вяра в това, че Исус ще се върне на облаци. Когато въпреки техните очаквания Исус се завърне на земята в плът, те няма да Го познаят и ще започнат да Го преследват. Ако думите: “Тези, които са Го пронизали” са метафора, тогава и облаците в този стих също имат символически смисъл. Какво в действителност символизират облаците? Облаците се образуват в резултат на изпарението на водата от земята. В Библията водата често се отъждествява с падналите хора (Откр.17:15) От тук следва изводът, че облаците символизират преданите християни, чиито сърца пребивават на “Небесата”, а не на “Земята”, доколкото те са се възродили, оставяйки своето състояние на паднали хора. В Библията и в други писания думата “облак” се среща също за означаване на множества (Евреи 12:1) и в този смисъл тя понякога се използва и във всекидневната реч. По пътя на Моисей облачният стълб, който е водел израелтяните през деня, е представлявал Исус, бъдещия лидер на Израел, а през нощта е представлявал Светия Дух, на когото в бъдеще е било предназначено да казва пътя на Израел с огнено вдъхновение. Следователно, пришествието на Исус на облаци означава Неговото появяване сред новородените вярващи с цел да стане глава на християните – вторият Израел. Да си спомним, че когато попитали Исус за мястото на Неговото завръщане, Той отговаря: “Където е трупът, там ще се съберат и орлите” (Лука 17:37). Исус е подразбирал, че Той ще се появи там, където ще се съберат дълбоко вярващите. Главният смисъл на тези думи съвпада с Библейските пророчества за завръщането на Исус на облаци. Метафоричният смисъл на облаците очевидно сочи, че по време на първото пришествие Исус символично е слязъл от Небесата на облаци. В Библията е казано: “Първият човек е от земята, пръстен. Вторият човек е от Небето.” (1 Коринтяни 15:47), а така също: “И никой не е възлязъл на Небето, освен тоя, който е слязъл от Небето, сиреч, Човешкият Син, Който е на Небето” (Йоан 3:13) Макар че Исус се е родил на земята в плът, от гледна точка на провидението и на Неговото истинско значение, Той в действителност е дошъл от Небесата. В това се заключава дълбокия смисъл на пророчеството на Данаил, в което се предсказва, че Исус ще дойде на облаци. Защо Исус е говорил че Господ ще дойде на облаци Съществуват две причини, съгласно които Исус е предсказвал, че Господ ще се върне на облаци. На първо място, Той не е искал да допусне, заблужденията на антихристите да предизвикат смущение сред вярващите. Ако Той ясно би говорил за своето възвръщане чрез физическо рождение, да се избегне това би се оказало невъзможно. Доколкото Исус, произхождащ от скромно семейство, се е явил на хората като Месия, всеки човек, имащ определен уровен на духовността, независимо от социалния си произход, би могъл да се обяви за Господ на Второто пришествие и да въведе света в заблуждение. За щастие, болшинството християни са очаквали появяването на Христос на облаци, не свеждайки очи от небето и по такъв начин този безпорядък в значителна степен е бил избегнат. Сега, обаче , вече е дошло времето, когато истината за завръщането на Христос чрез Неговото раждане на земята може да бъде открита. На второ място, обещавайки да се върне на облаци, Исус е искал да въодушеви християните по техния тежък път на вярата. Както и в другите примери, когато Исус е говорил парадоксални на пръв поглед неща, за да придаде мъжество на своите последователи и да способства за по-бързото осъществяване на Божията воля. И така Исус казва: “Истина ви казвам, няма да успеете да обиколите градовете Израилеви, когато ще дойде Човешкият Син” (Мат. 10:23). Тези думи са пробудили в неговите ученици вяра в това, че Второто пришествие ще се осъществи в близко бъдеще. Когато Исус разказал на Петър за Неговата близка мъченическа смърт, той го попитал какво ще се случи с другите ученици на Исус, с Йоан. В отговор Исус казва:”Ако аз поискам той да пребъде докато дойда, на тебе какво ти е от това? Ти върви след мен” (Йон 21:22). Основавайки се на тези думи, учениците са очаквали, че Исус ще се върне още докато Йоан е жив. Исус е казал още” “Истина ви казвам, има някои от стоящите тук, които никак няма да вкусят смърт, докле не видят Човешкия син, идещ в царството Си. (Мат. 16:28) Подобни изказвания са вселявали в учениците на Исус надежда за Неговото скорошно завръщане. Тя е придавала смисъл и сили за тях и им е помагала да преодолеят преследванията от страна на юдеизма и на Римската империя. Въодушевени от несломима вяра във Второто пришествие, те са се изпълнили със Светия Дух (Деяния 2:1-4) и са основали ранната християнска църква, независимо от огромните трудности. И така, обещавайки да се върне скоро, Исус е искал да вдъхнови своите ученици и да им вдъхне мъжество, предвиждайки, че им предстои да носят тежък кръст. Поради тази причина Исус е предсказвал, че ще дойде на облаци в силата и славата на Бог и ще изпълни всичко със скоростта на мълнията. РАЗДЕЛ 3 Къде ще се върне Христос Ако на Христос е съдено да се върне чрез раждане на земята, Той, без съмнение ще се появи сред избрания от Бог народ в съответствие с Божието предопределение. Какво място е избрал Бог за завръщането на Христос и на кой народ е предназначено да Го приеме? Ще се роди ли Христос сред еврейския народ Много християни, основавайки се на стиховете в Библията мислят, че Христос отново ще дойде в еврейския народ “И чух числото на подпечатаните, 144000 от всичките племена на израилтяните “ (Откр. 7:4) “А когато ви гонят в тоя град, бягайте в другия, защото истина ви казвам, няма да обходите Израилевите градове, докле дойде Човешкият Син.”(Мат. 10:23) За същото се говори и на друго място (Мат. 16:28) Обаче буквалното тълкуване на тези стихове означава неправилно разбиране на Божието провидение. Исус е разказал притчата за лозето (Мат. 21:33-43). "Чуйте друга притча. Имаше един стопанин, който насади лозе, огради го с плет, изкопа в него лин и построи кула; и като го даде под наем на земеделци, отиде в чужбина. А когато наближи времето на плодовете, изпрати слугите си при лозарите, за да приберат плодовете му. И лозарите, като хванаха слугите му, един биха, друг убиха, а трети с камъни пребиха. Пак изпрати други слуги, повече на брой от първите; и на тях сториха същото. А най-накрая изпрати при тях сина си, като казваше: Ще почетат сина ми. Но лозарите, като видяха сина, казаха помежду си: Този е наследникът; елате да го убием и да присвоим наследството му!39.И като го хванаха, го изхвърлиха вън от лозето и го убиха. И така, когато стопанинът на лозето си дойде, какво ще направи на тези лозари? Казаха Му: Злосторниците лошо ще погуби, а лозето ще даде под наем на други лозари, които ще му дават плодовете на времето им. Иисус им каза: Никога ли не сте чели в Писанията: "Камъкът, който отхвърлиха зидарите, Той стана глава на ъгъла. От Господа е това и чудно е в нашите очи"? Затова ви казвам, че Божието царство ще се отнеме от вас и ще се даде на народ, който ражда плодовете му."В тази притча владетелят на лозето представлява Бог, лозето – Божият труд, лозарите, на които е доверена работата, символизират израелския народ, слугите – това са пророците, синът на господаря на лозето е Исус, а другите лозари, които събират урожая, представляват някой народ, който е готов да приеме Христос на Второто пришествие и да изпълни волята на Бог. В тази притча Исус е искал да каже, че няма да се появи отново сред народ, който Го преследва. Бог ще отнеме от този народ мисията, която му е била поверена и ще я предаде на друг народ, способен плодотворно да я завърши при завръщането на Христос. Защо тогава се създава впечатлението, че Библията свидетелствува за завръщането на Христос сред потомците на Израил? За да се отговори на този въпрос, преди всичко трябва да разберем значението на думата “Израил”. Думата “Израил” означава победител. Яков е заслужил това име, защото е удържал победа над ангела, с когото се е сражавал при рекя Явок. Яков е стъпил в бой с него, за да завоюва положението на Авел за създаване на субстанциално основание. Утвърждавайки се на това положение и правейки субстанциално приношение, Яков е положил основанието за Месия на семейно ниво. Неговите потомци, онаследили благодарение на това отговорността за Божието провидение, се наричат Израил, или избрания народ. По такъв начин, думата “Израил” означава Божи народ, който е възтържествувал благодарение на своето време. С други думи, тази дума не се отнася обезателно за всеки, който е произлязъл от рода на Яков. Така, Йоан Кръстител е казал на евреите: “И не мислете да думате, че Авраам е нашият баща; защото ви казвам, че Бог може и от тези камъни да въздигне чада на Авраама” (Мат. 3:9). Освен това, свети Павел е казал: “Защото не е юдеин оня, който е външно такъв, нито е обрязване онова, което е външно в плътта; но юдеин е тоя, който е такъв вътрешно; а обрязване е това, което е на сърцето, в духа, а не в буквата;”(Римляни 2:28-29) и “.......защото не всички ония са Израил, които са от Израиля” (Римляни 9:6). В тези стихове се изразява порицание към тези евреи, които горделиво са се причислявали към избрания народ, основавайки се единствено на кръвното родство с Авраам, но в действителност не са живеели съгласно Божията воля. По времето на изхода на потомците на Яков от Египет с Моисей на чело, тях е можело да ги нарекат “Израил”, но те са изгубили правото да носят това име, когато са въстанали против Бог в пустинята, затова, както Бог е определил, те са умрели в пустинята и само младото поколение влиза в Ханаан. Тези хора Бог (второто поколение) Бог е считал за Израил. В последствие 10 племена от Северното царство на Израил, въстанали против Бог, изгубват правото да бъдат избран народ и за това са били унищожени. От избрания народ остават само 2 племена от Южното царство, юдеи, които са продължавали да следват Божията воля. Именно сред тях в последствие се явява и Исус. Още повече, когато Исус бива разпънат поради неверието на евреите, последните напълно изгубват правото си да останат избран народ. Какъв народ става избран след разпъването на Исус? Това са били християните, онаследили вярата на Авраам и взели върху себе си мисията, с която не са се справили неговите потомци. Свети Павел пише: “Но чрез тяхното отклонение дойде спасение на езичниците, за да ги възбуди към ревнивост” (Римляни 11:11), свидетелствайки, че центърът на Божието провидение за възстановяване се премества от евреите към езичниците (Деяния 13:46). Следователно, избраният народ, на който е предстояло да положи основанието за Месия на Второто пришествие, не произхожда от рода на Авраам. Този избран народ се явяват тези, които са онаследили вярата на Авраам, т.е. християните. Христос ще се върне в източна страна Съгласно обяснението на Исус, дадено в притчата за лозето (Мат. 21:33-43), еврейският народ, разпънал Исус, подобно на лозарите, убили сина на своя хазаин, е изгубил своята провиденциална мисия. На каква страна е съдено да онаследи всичко, което е било направено от Бог и да събере плодовете на Неговия труд? В Библията има предположение, че тази страна се намира на Изток. В Откровението на свети Йоан Богослов е написано, че “в ръката на седящия на престола” е имало книга, “написана отвътре и отвън, запечатана със 7 печата”. Обаче никой не може нито на Небето, нито на Земята, нито под земята да отвори тази книга, защото не се е намерил достоен, поради което Йоан много плакал. Тогава се появява агнеца (Исус) и взима книгата от десницата на престола и започнал да сваля печатите й (Откр. 5:1-7; 6:1). Библията описва събития и знамения, произхождащи при това. Накрая, след като Той маха шестия печат, се случва следното съгласно описанието на Йоан: “И видях друг ангел да се издига от Изток, у когото беше печата на живия Бог; и той извика с висок глас към четирите ангели....и каза: “Не повреждайте земята, нито морето, нито дърветата, преди да ударим печат на челата на слугите на нашия Бог. И чух числото на подпечатаните, 144 000 подпечатани от всичките племена на Израилтяните” (Откр. 7:2-4). На тези избраници предстои да съпровождат Агнеца – Исус (Откр. 14:1). И така, основавайки се на гореказаното, може да се предположи, че Христос ще се роди на Изток в страната на изгряващото слънце, там, където с печатите на живия Бог ще бъдат отбелязани 144 000 избраници. Тази страна ще онаследи труда на Бог и ще пожъне Неговите плодове в името на Второто пришествие на Месията. Коя от страните на Изтока е избрана да приеме Христос? Източната страна е Корея Както вече се каза, Христос няма да се върне сред потомците на Авраам, а ще дойде в страна, която е онаследила отговорността за неосъщественото от нея провидение за възстановяване и неговите плодове. Така също ние разбрахме, че това ще бъде една от страните на Изтока. От далечни времена за източни нации традиционно се считат Корея, Япония и Китай. Сред тях Япония в продължение на цялата си история се кланя на Богинята на слънцето Аматерасу-Омиками. В периода на Второто пришествие тя се явява фашистка страна, жестоко преследваща християнството в Корея (Подготовка за ІІ пришествие 4.3.3). Китай по време на Второто пришествие става огнище на комунизма. Следователно, тези 2 нации са принадлежали на страната на сатана. Остава само Корея, която се явява също източна страна, където ще се появи завърналият се Христос. Нека да изследваме от Принципна гледна точка различните причини, съгласно които Корея получава правото да приеме Господа на Второто пришествие, помнейки, че за това тя трябва да отговаря на определени критерии, за които ще говорим по-долу. Национално условие за изкупление За да отговаря на критериите на избрания народ, получил право да приеме Месията, Корея е длъжна да осъществи Промисъла на националното отделяне от сатана, основано на числото 40; така може да се достигне възстановяването на Ханаан на космическо ниво. Защо това условие на изкупление е дадено на корейския народ? Ако Христос се върне в Корея, то на корейския народ е съдено да стане Трети Израил. В епохата на Стария завет потомците на Авраам, които са следвали Божията воля и са се подлагали на притеснения в Египет, стават Първият Израил. Християните, които евреите са преследвали като еретици поради почитането на възкръсналия Исус, стават Вторият Израил, отговорни за втория етап от провидението за възстановяване. По време на Второто пришествие, Христос по всяка вероятност ще бъде по същия начин заклеймен като еретик от християните на своето време в съответствие с пророчеството за страданието и отхвърлянето, на което Той подобно на Ной, ще бъде обречен от съвременниците си (Лука 17:25, 26). В този случай Бог ще бъде принуден да напусне християните, преследващи Христа по същия начин, по който Той се е отказал от евреите, отхвърлили Исус (Мат. 7:23). Тогава корейският народ, който трябва да служи на Христос и да завърши третия етап на Божието провидение, ще стане Трети Израил. Първият Израил е страдал 400 години в Египет, страната на сатана, осъществявайки промисъла за отделяне от сатана с числото 40 в основата. Това е било необходимо, за да започне пътя на възстановяване на Ханаан на национално ниво. За осъществяване на този промисъл Вторият Израил е бил длъжен да преодолее 400 години преследване в Римската империя, което е било необходимо за началото на световния път за възстановяване на Ханаан. На третия Израил – корейският народ, се е наложило да премине през страдание под робството на нация, която е на страната на сатана в продължение на 40 години и по този начин той успява да осъществи промисъла за отделяне от сатана, необходим за началото на пътя за възстановяване на Ханаан на космическо ниво. Това са били 40 –те години, през които корейците, бидейки японска колония, са изпитвали невероятни страдания и лишения. В 1895 г. японците убиват корейския крал. Това убийство е от най-ясните примери за престъпленията, които са извършени от японците на корейска земя. В 1905 г. е сключен отбранителния договор Улса, който налага на Корея статут на японски протекторат и става повод за нахлуването на Япония в Корея. Договорът са подписали Хирохуми Ито от японска страна и Уан Йон Ли, министър на просвещението и японофил, от корейска. Всички дипломатически права на Корея са прехвърлени на Министерството на чуждестранните работи на Япония. Тя учредява поста генерал-губернатор и назначава свои военни представители във всеки регион, за да обезпечи контрола над вътрешните работи на Корея. Япония лишава корейския народ от всякакви права в областта на политиката, дипломацията, икономиката. В 1910 г. тя окупирва Корея. Японците извършват зверски престъпления против корейския народ, хвърляйки в затворите и убивайки много патриоти, а също напълно лишавайки хората от тяхната свобода. Когато на 1 март 1919 г. се разгръща движение за независимост, те унищожават хиляди мирни жители на Корейския полуостров. След японското земетресение в Канто в 1923 г. японците безпочвено обвиняват в нищо непровинили се корейци, живеещи в Токио и зверски убиват много от тях. В същото време множество корейци, не желаейки повече да търпят японския гнет, напускат своя плодороден край и бягат в пустинните степи на Манджурия в търсене на свобода. Там те понасят невероятни мъчения, посвещавайки се с душата и сърцето си на борбата за независимост на родината. Японските милитаристи са претърсвали село след село в търсене на тези предани корейци. В някои местности, те затваряли в къщите стари и млади и ги изгаряли живи. Япония не прекратява политиката на тирания чак до деня на своето сриване. Повечето от корейците, които са били участници в движението за независимост, убитите на 1 март, както и тези, които са се борили в Манджурия, са били християни. Към края на своето колониално господство Япония засилва преследването на независимото християнство в Корея. Християните са заставяни да се покланят на шинтоистки светини, а тези, които не се подчинявали, са били хвърляни в затвори и убивани. Особено зверски репресии са прилагани към християните в навечерието на 15 август – денят на освобождаването на Корея. След капитулацията във втората световна война, подписана от японския император Хирохито, корейският народ най-после получава свобода. И така, корейският народ преминава през 40 годишен път на страдания, започвайки с отбранителния договор Улса през 1905 г. и завършвайки с освобождаването на Корея през 1945 г. На него му се налага да понесе не по-малко мъчения, отколкото са били тези на първия Израил в Египет и на втория Израил в Римската империя. Начело на корейското движение за независимост както в родината, така и извън нея, стоят в основно християни; именно те са били подлагани на най-големите страдания в годините на японската тирания. Линията на противопостваяне между Бог и сатана В последните дни светът се разделя на два лагера: демократически и комунистически. Доколкото Бог дава на Адам благословия за господство над света, Той е бил принуден да допусне, че сатана, който се разпорежда с потомците на Адам за свои цели, ще построи свят не съгласно Принципа, в който Третата благословия ще бъде осъществена на страната на сатана. На Бог се налага да следва сатана по петите, опитвайки се да възстанови този свят и да го върне на Своя страна. Христос, който ще дойде отново, за да възстанови падналия свят до първоначалното му състояние, присъщо му при неговото сътворяване, несъмнено ще положи всички усилия за спасяване на комунистическия свят. При това страната, в която той ще се появи, ще играе главна роля в провидението. Най-драгото място за Сърцето на Бог се явява Корея – страната на Второто пришествие на Христос. В очите на сатана тя е най-омразното място. Тя е линията на фронта, където става борбата между Бог и сатана, място на стълкновение между комунистическите и демократичните сили. Такава линия на конфронтация, възникнала в името на осъществяване на провидението за възстановяване, се явява 38-ия паралел в Корея. При стълкновението между Бог и сатана трябва да бъде принесена жертва като необходимо условие за определяне изхода на борбата. Такава жертва на национално ниво става корейският народ, на когото е било определено да се намира на предната линия на борбата в името на възстановяване на Небесата и Земята. Следователно, корейският народ е бил длъжен да бъде разделен, подобно на това – както Авраам е трябвало да раздели своите жертвоприношения. В това се крие причината за разделянето на Корея по линията на 38-ия паралел и възникването на нейната територия на две страни: тип Каин и тип Авел. Тридесет и осмият паралел е линията на фронта, където се води борба между демокрацията и комунизма и едновременно с това е предната линия на борбата между Бог и сатана. Корейската война, избухнала на 38-ия паралел, не е била просто гражданска война, в резултат на която става териториално разделение. Това е било стълкновение на демократичния с комунистическия свят. Освен това, тя е схватка между Бог и сатана. Доколкото тази война има световно значение за завършване на провидението на възстановяване, за първи път в нея встъпват в конфликт въоръжените сили на държави, членки на Обединените Нации. Даже не разбирайки нейното провиденциално значение, те действат съгласно Божията воля, способствайки за освобождението на Корея. От момента на грехопадението на прародителите на човечеството, започва разделението на Божия и сатанинска страна. Всичко се разделя, пораждайки живот и смърт, добро и зло, любов и омраза, радост и мъка, щастие и нещастие, между които не се прекратява конфликтът в продължение на цялата човешка история. Тези разделени страни сформирват два обособени свята, тип Авел и тип Каин, в резултат на което се образуват демократичния и комунистическия свят. Когато те встъпват в глобален конфликт един с друг, центърът на техните борби става Корейският полуостров. Религията, идеологията, политиката и икономиката – всичко идва в състояние на противоборство, предизвиквайки най-голямото объркване в корейското общество, преминало след това в стълкновение от световен мащаб. Причината се крие в това, че явленията, станали отначало в духовния свят, в последствие стават физическа реалност в Корея, страната, играеща централна роля в провидението на възстановяване. В последствие тези явления достигат световен размах. Настъпването на социалния и идеологически хаос е било явен признак за това, че стремително се приближава времето на ново световно устройство. Както веднъж казва Исус: “когато клоните започнат да стават меки и да пускат листя, то знаете, че лятото е близо” (Мат. 24:32). Когато учениците питат Исус за мястото на Неговото завръщане, той казва: “Където е трупът, там ще се съберат и орлите” (Лука 17:37). В Корея, на предната линия на борбата между Бог и сатана, вечният живот и вечната смърт встъпват в схватка. Злите сили, символично представени като орли, ще се съберат на тази земя в търсене на духовно мъртви, но в същото време завърналият се Господ ще се яви на същата земя, за да намери хора, изпълнени с живот. Обектът на Божието Сърце За да станем обект на Божието Сърце, ние сме длъжни да минем по пътя на сълзите, кръвта и потта. От времето, когато хората са се оказали под властта на сатана и започват да се противопоставят на Бог, Неговото родителско Сърце се преизпълва със скръб за загубените Си деца. Бог непрестанно въздейства на падналия свят, за да спаси нещастното човечество. Още повече, стремейки се да излекува Своите непокорни деца, Бог отново и отново е принуден да принася като жертви на Своя враг – сатана, най-добрите и скъпи за Него хора. Даже Исус, Неговия единороден син, Той е бил принуден да изпрати на кръста. Такива мъчения на Бог се е налагало да изпитва всеки ден от момента на грехопадението на човека. Затова личността, семейството или нацията, които се борят със света на сатана в името на осъществяване на Божията воля, не могат да избегнат пътя на кръвта, потта и сълзите. Как могат преданите деца на Бог да вървят по лекия път в живота и да остават при това обекти на Сърцето на своя Небесен Баща, ако Той преживява дълбока скръб? Народът, достоен да приеме Месията, е длъжен да обладава синовна почтителност, за да стане обект на Божието Сърце. Ето защо на него му предстои да върви по пътя на кръвта, потта и сълзите. И първият, и вторият Израил преминават по пътя на страданията. Такава съдба е била отредена и за корейския народ – третият Израил. Тяхната история, пълна с бедствия, е пътят, който е трябвало да премине избраният от Бог народ. На него му е съдено да следва този път, не знаейки за това, че в крайна сметка той ще завърши с велико благословение. Народът, достоен да заеме положението на обект на Божието Сърце, трябва да въплъщава в себе си доброто. Корейският народ, имащ 4000 годишна история, нито един път не се е устремявал към територията на други народи и не ги е нападал. Даже в периода на Когурьо и на Сила, когато страната е преживявала разцвет във всички области на живота, тя е прибягвала към военна сила само с цел защита от завоевателите. Имайки пред вид този факт, че основната черта, присъща на природата на сатана се явява агресивното завладяване на властта, става очевидно, че корейският народ по право принадлежи на страната на Бог. Стратегията на Бог се заключава в това, да удържи победа след като на Неговата страна е извършено нападение. Така, независимо от това, че огромно количество пророци и светии са били принесени в жертва в историческото минало и даже Исус загива на кръста, отново и отново Бог удържа победа. Независимо, че агресорът по време на първата и втората световни войни е бил страната на сатана, в края на краищата побеждава страната на Бог. По подобен начин корейският народ се е оказвал в ръцете на чуждоземни завоеватели не един път, но истинското желание на Бог, водещ този народ по пътя на мъченията, е било да утвърди Корея на Своя страна и да обезпечи нейната окончателна победа. Корейският народ е много религиозен по своята природа. Това вродено религиозно чувство винаги го е направлявало към това – да надмогва физическата реалност и да придобива по-дълбока ценност. Още от древни времена, когато корейската култура се е намирала на примитивно ниво на развитие, корейският народ е проявявал силен стремеж да се покланя на Бог. Корейците не са отдавали необходимото на религии, които суеверно са обожествявали природата или са се стремели към временно щастие на земния живот. Те винаги високо са ценили такива добродетели като вярност, синовна почтителност и целомъдрие. С това се обяснява тяхната любов към народните предания, запомнили тези добродетели като легендата за Чун-Хян и легендата за Щим-Чон. Месиянски пророчества В корейския народ много отдавна живее надеждата за идването на Месията, за когото се е говорело в ясните свидетелства на пророците. Първият Израил е вярвал в предсказанията на своите пророци (Малахия 4:2-5; Исая 60:1-22) за това, че Месията ще дойде като цар, ще построи царство и ще донесе спасение за израелтяните. Вторият Израел е могъл да издържи трънливия път на вярата благодарение на надеждата, че Христос ще се върне. Аналогично на това корейският народ – третият Израил, е вярвал в пророчества за справедливия цар, който ще се появи веднъж и ще образува славно и вечно царство на своята земя. Лелеейки тази надежда, той е намерил в себе си сили да преживее всички бедствия. Тази месианска идея, битуваща в корейския народ, намира своя израз в книгата на пророчествата “Чон кам-нок”, написана през 14 век, в началото на управлението на династията Ли. Доколкото в това пророчество е било предсказано появяването на нов цар, управляващата класа се е опитвала да не говори за него. Японският колониален режим се е стараел да изкорени самата идея, изгаряйки книгата. След като християнството получава широко признание, тази месиянска идея се е смятала като суеверие. Но въпреки това тя продължава да живее до днешния ден, дълбоко вкоренила се в душата на корейския народ. Хората отдавна са се надявали на предсказаното в книгата “Чон кам-нок” пришествие на справедливия цар, наричан Чон До Рьон, което означава “този, който идва с истинското слово на Бог”. В действителност това корейско пророчество говори за Христос на Второто пришествие, който ще дойде в Корея. И така, още преди появяването на християнството в Корея, Бог чрез “Чон кам-нок” е изпратил откровение за прихода на Месията на тази земя. Сега учените потвърждават, че много откъси от тази книга на пророчествата съвпадат с предсказанията на Библията. Освен това, вярващите от много религиозни групи в Корея получават откровение за това, че основателите на техните вярвания ще се върнат в Корея. Изследвайки развитието на културните сфери, ние узнаваме, че всички религии се движат към обединение, основа на което ще стане християнството (Есхаталогия 4.2.), затова в последните дни на християнството е отредено да стане религия, носеща отговорност да достигане целите на много религии в историята. То ще стане последната религия в човешката история. Христос на Второто пришествие, центърът на християнството, ще осъществи целите, към които са се стремели основателите на различни религиозни течения. Следователно, мисията на Христос е такава, че Той може да се смята за Второто пришествие на основателя на всяка религия. (Възкресение 2.4). Когато в потвърждение на откровението за Второто пришествие на основателите на различни религии, то се осъществи в Корея, тези хора няма да се явят като различни личности. Всички откровения ще се изпълнят с пришествието на един човек – Христос на Второто пришествие. Откровението за идващия Господар са получавали вярващите от различни религии: будистите са Го очаквали в облика на Матрея Буда; конфунцианците – като истински човек, а за последователите на религията на Чон-до-кьо, това е било завръщане на нейния основател Че Су-Ун. В книгата “Чом кам – нок” господарят е Чон До – Рьон. Още повече, всички те ще дойдат в лицето на Христос на Второто пришествие. И накрая, ние ставаме свидетели на откровения и знамения, които получават духовно откритите вярващи, и те потвърждават, че Христос на Второто пришествие ще дойде в Корея. Такъв род откровения растат като гъби след дъжд. Обещанието на Бог “Ще излея от Своя дух на всяка плът” (Деяния 2:17) се сбъдва в корейския народ. Много вярващи встъпват в контакт с духове от различни нива на духовния свят, от невисоките му сфери до Рая и получават ясни откровения, че Господарят ще дойде в Корея. Обаче лидерите на съвременните християнски църкви още не са се пробудили от съня си. Бидейки духовно невежествени, те не обръщат внимание на тези явления. Подобни неща са ставали и по времето на Исус. Свещениците, равините и книжниците, които са били длъжни да бъдат първите, които да признаят раждането на Месията, поради своята духовна слепота, остават в пълно неведение. Вестта за раждането на Исус е била изявена на мъдреците от Изток и на пастирите. Исус казва: “Благодаря Ти, Отче, господи на Небето и на земята, задето си утаил това от мъдрите и разумните, а си го открил на младенците.” (Мат. 11:25). Исус не е можел да не скърби, виждайки духовното невежество на еврейското духовенство на това време; но от друга страна, Той е бил благодарен на Бог за милостта, с която Той е надарил чистите, необразовани вярващи, посвещавайки ги в Своето провидение. Сега, в епохата, която е съпоставима по идентичност на времето с това на Исус, корейското християнство преживява аналогично явление в по-сложен вид. На чистите и невинните, прости вярващи, Бог открива много небесни тайни, отнасящи се до последните дни. Обаче те предпочитат да скриват тези трохички истина, защото в случай на обнародване на тези знания от тях, те ще се сблъскват с преследвания за ерес. Между това, подобно на свещениците, равините и книжниците от времето на Исус, много представители на християнското духовенство се гордеят със своите познания за Библията и способността си да я тълкуват. Те се наслаждават на почитта от страна на своите последователи и чувстват удовлетворение от изпълнението на своите отговорности. И въпреки това, за велико огорчение на Бог, те остават напълно невежи относно провидението, което Той разгръща в последните дни. Страната, събираща плодовете на всички цивилизации Духовната и материалната цивилизации, сформирани на основата на религиите и науката в търсене на пътища за преодоляване на двата аспекта на човешкото невежество, трябва да се хармонизират. Само след това ние ще можем да разрешим фундаменталните проблеми на човешкия живот и да осъществим света на Божия идеал. (Есхатология 5.1). В света, заради който идва Христос, науката ще достигне небивали висоти. Това ще бъде общество с най-високо ниво на културата, когато всички цивилизации, развиващи се по вертикалния път на провиденциалната история, ще бъдат възстановени хоризонтално под ръководството на Месията. По такъв начин духовният и материалният аспект на цивилизациите, развиващи се благодарение на религиите и науката и достигащи разцвет по целия свят, ще се хармонизират в Корея, сплотени от всеобхватната нова истина. Тогава те ще принесат плодове в идеалния свят, който ще въплъти най-дълбокото желание на Бог. Първо, в Корея ще бъдат събрани плодовете на всички континентални цивилизации. Античните континентални цивилизации на Египет и Месопотамия са завещали свои плодове на полуостровните цивилизации на Гърция, Рим и Иберия, а след това – на островната цивилизация на Англия. Тя предава своята култура на Съединените Щати, която е континентална цивилизация. След това този процес приема обратно направление, когато САЩ предават своята култура на Япония, островна цивилизация. Сега тези плодове ще бъдат събрани на корейската полуостровна цивилизация, където е отредено да се роди Христос. Второ. Цивилизациите, зародили се по бреговете на реките и моретата, също трябва да завещаят своите плодове на тихоокеанската цивилизация, към която принадлежи и Корея. “Речните” цивилизации, възникнали по бреговете на Нил, Тигър и Ефрат, са предали своята култура на близката до тях Средиземноморска цивилизация: Гърция, Рим, Испания и Португалия, които от своя страна завещават плодовете на тази култура на цивилизациите на Атлантическия океан, в случая на Англия и САЩ. Всички тези плодове ще бъдат събрани в цивилизацията на Тихия океан, свързващ в едно Съединените Щати, Япония и Корея. И накрая, цивилизациите, образувани в различните климатични зони, също ще принесат плодове в Корея. По същия начин в кръговрата на сезоните на годината всичко живо започва да живее и да се размножава пролетта, цъфти лятото, принася плодове есента и набира сили зимата. Цикълът от пролет, лято, есен и зима се повтаря не само година след година, но и ден след ден: утрото съответствува на пролетта, денят – на лятото, вечерта на есента, нощта – на зимата. По същия образец човешкият живот преминава през 4 фази: детство, юношество, зрелост и старост. Човешката история също се развива по примера на смяна на сезоните на годината, защото един от аспектите на Божия Принцип, положен в основата на Творението – това е привеждането в хармония на сезонния цикъл на живота. Бог създава Адам и Ева през пролетното време на човешката история. В съответствие с това историята е трябвало да започне своя ход от умерената зона на Едемската цивилизация. След това, преминавайки в летния сезон, тя е трябвало да се премести в тропическата цивилизация, а есента – в цивилизацията на прохладната зона. Своята кулминация тя е трябвало да достигне в цивилизацията на хладната зона, съпоставима със зимния сезон. Обаче поради грехопадението, хората са деградирали и оскотели. Вместо да създадат цивилизацията на умерената зона, те преждевременно са населили тропическата зона като примитивни хора. В континенталната част на Африка те са образували тропическата цивилизация на Египет. Тази континентална цивилизация предава своята култура на полуостровите и островите, където се развива цивилизацията на прохладната зона, плодовете на които са били събрани в цивилизациите на хладната зона на Съветския Съюз. Сега, с разцвета на новата ера, трябва да се образува цивилизацията на умерената зона на Новия Едем, където всички цивилизации ще съберат своите плодове. Това трябва да стане в Корея. РАЗДЕЛ 4 Времето на Исус и нашите дни от гледна точка на провиденциалната идентичност на времето Периодът на Второто пришествие и времето на Исус образуват провиденциалната идентичност на времето. Ситуацията, в която се намира съвременното християнство е подобна на тази, която се е създала в юдаизма по времето на Исус. Нека да изследваме някои от тези паралели. Подобно на юдаизма по времето на Исус, съвременното християнство много твърдо се придържа към установената власт и церемониите, но то вътрешно се разрушава. По времето на Исус много свещеници и книжници стават роби на формална обредност в ущърб на своя духовен живот и вярващите юдеи, стремящи се да утолят духовната си жажда, искрено се втурват към Исус, когото обвиняват в ерес. Аналогично на това много свещеници и представители на висшето духовенство на съвременното духовенство се намират в плен на собствените си власт и авторитет и обременени от ритуалите, а в същото време душите им ден след ден се потапят в тъмнина. Затова дълбоко вярващите християни блуждаят изгубени в търсене на истинския път и новите водачи, за да напуснат духовната пустиня и да получат вътрешна светлина. Подобно на висшето юдейско свещеничество, по времето на Исус, християнското духовенство по-скоро ще стане преследващо Исуса на Второто пришествие. Исус е дошъл, за да започне нова ера, която би въплътила истините на Стария завет, провъзгласена от пророците. Той не се е ограничавал с повтаряне на думите на Стария завет, а е провъзгласявал ново слово на истината, съответстващо на новата епоха. Еврейските свещеници и книжници оспорвали думите и делата на Исус, основавайки се на своето тясно разбиране за писанията на СТАРИЯ ЗАВЕТ. Тяхното грешно осъждане довежда до тава, че те отправят Исус на кръста. Целта на Христос на Второто пришествие също се състои в това, да създава “ново небе и нова земя” (Откр.21:1-4) на провиденциалното основание на духовното спасение, заложено от християнството в епохата на Новия завет. Завърналият се Исус не просто ще повтори думите на Новия завет, произнесени 2000 г- преди това, но обезателно ще даде ново слово за истината, необходимо за създаването на новите небе и земя. Обаче тези християни, чиито мисли са приковани към буквата на Новия завет, ще започнат да критикуват думите и делата на Христос, основавайки се на тясното разбиране на писанията. Следователно, може да се очаква, че те ще заклеймят Господа като еретик и ще Го преследват. Ето защо Исус е предсказвал, че при Второто пришествие, Христос предстои много да пострада и да бъде отхвърлен от този род. Получавайки откровение за Христос на Второто пришествие или слушайки неговите думи, хората ще откликнат на тях по същия начин, както и евреите по времето на Исус. Бог не е доверил вестта за раждането на Исус на свещениците и книжниците, а дава откровение за това на мъдреците – езичници и на чистите по душа пастири. Така се случва също когато например, бащата поради невежеството на своите собствени деца е принуден да се съветва с доведения син. По подобен начин, не е изключена възможността Бог да даде откровение за завръщането на Христос отначало на прости вярващи и иноверци, към които християните се отнасят с пренебрежение, или на тези невярващи хора, у които гласът на съвестта е силен. Напълно е възможно, само след известно време, тази новост да достигне до лидерите на християнското духовенство, които неразумно се държат за своята традиционна вяра. По времето на Исус евангелието е било прието с готовност не от първосвещениците и висшето духовенство, които са считали себе си за избрани, а от простолюдието и друговерците. При завръщането на Христос простите християни и хора от други вярвания ще приемат Неговите слова преди лидерите на християнството, които считат себе си За Божии избраници. В това се състои смисълът на притчата на Исус за свадбения пир. В нея се говори с прискърбие, че в свадбения пир ще вземат участие не тези, които са били поканени, а тези, които са намерени на улицата, защото “поканените не са били достойни” (Мат. 22:8-10). Както в дните на Исус, така и по време на Второто пришествие, много предани вярващи, стъпили на пътя на вярата с надежда да влязат в Божието царство, в действителност могат да се окажат в ада. По времето на Исус свещениците и книжниците, натоварени с мисията да направляват избрания народ на Бога, са били длъжни да бъдат първите, които да признаят пришествието на Месията и да поведат след себе си еврейския народ за среща с Него. Затова Исус, надявайки се, че те ще се справят с тази мисия, отива в храма и започва да ги учи на евангелието преди всички останали. Обаче когато те не Го приемат, Исус няма друг избор и се отправя да броди по бреговете на Галилейското море и да търси ученици сред рибарите. Той е бил принуден да служи на отрепките на обществото и да живее сред грешници, лихвари и проститутки. В края на краищата преследването от страна на свещениците и книжниците приема такъв сериозен размер, че Исус е бил принуден да приеме смъртта на кръста. Тези хора убиват Исус, вярвайки в праведността на деянието си, доколкото са Го смятали за опасен еретик и богохулник, който следва да бъде унищожен. Впоследствие те отново са пристъпили към своите църковни задължения и до края на дните си са чели Свещеното Писание, плащали десятъка си и са принасяли жертви в храма, убедени, че вървят по пътя, водещ към Небесното Царство. Вместо това, след отиването си в духовния свят, те неочаквано разбират, че се намират в ада. За нещастие, пътят, който те сами са избрали с надеждата да попаднат в Небесното царство, ги е довел в ада. Осъзнавайки, че подобни събития могат да станат в последните дни, всеки от нас е длъжен с цялата си сериозност да погледне в себе си. Много християни сега се отправят по пътя, който, по тяхното убеждение, ще ги доведе на Небесата. Обаче, ако направят невярна крачка, този път може да ги отведе в ада. Затова Исус не веднъж казва, че в последните дни ще се откаже от много предани вярващи, даже от тези от тях, чието посвещение е така велико, че те са способни да изгонват бесове и да вършат чудеса от Негово име” “Аз никога не съм ви познавал; махнете се от Мен, вършещи беззаконие” (Мат. 7:23). В действителност никой не се сблъсква с по-рискована ситуация, отколкото вярващите, живеещи в преходния период на историята, какъвто се явява нашата съвременност. Колкото и дълбока вяра да са проявявали в своя живот, ако те, подобно на еврейските лидери от времето на Исус, предприемат погрешни стъпки, отвръщайки се от завърналия се Христос, всичките им усилия ще се окажат напразни. Затова Данаил казва: “Мнозина ще се чистят и избелят и ще бъдат опитани; а нечестивите ще вършат нечестие и никой от нечестивите не ще разбере; но разумните ще разберат.” (Дан. 12:10). РАЗДЕЛ 5 Причината за появяването на многото езици и необходимостта от тяхното обединение Ако хората не бяха съгрешили и паднали, а достигнали до съвършенство, те биха образували световно семейство, напомнящо човешкото тяло, всички части на което са взаимосвързани едни с други и с Бог – тяхната глава. Всички те биха говорили на един и същи език и никога не би възникнало такова множество от чужди едно на друго наречия. Причината за възникването на различните езици, препятстващи свободното общуване между хората се заключава в това, че веднага след като вертикалните отношения на хората с Бог са били нарушени поради грехопадението, хоризонталната връзка между хората също е скъсана. Тогава човечеството се разделя и разсейва по различните географски територии и образува различни нации. В Библията ние също намирме думи, които осветляват възникването на езиковото разбъркване. В повествованието за Вавилонската кула четем, че потомците на Ной са говорили на един и същ език. Веднъж потомците на втория син на Ной – Хам, съгрешил пред Бог, започнали да строят Вавилонската кула, изпълнявайки с това волята на сатана. Когато потомците на Сим и на Яфет, стоящи на страната на Бога, започнали да им помагат, Бог довежда езиците им в таково объркване, че те повече не можели да общуват един с друг, за да осъществят волята на сатана.(Бит. 11:7). Бидейки деца на едни и същи родители, ние всички изпитваме чувства на радост, на гняв, на печал или удовлетворение. Обаче ние не можем да споделим най-дълбоките си преживявания един с друг, защото говорим на различни езици. Нима това не се явява като едно то най-големите нещастия на човечеството? За да се построи идеален свят с едно световно семейство, в което Господът на Второто пришествие ще бъде почитан като Истински Родител, всички езици трябва да се обединят. Смесването на езиците е станало в резултат на това, че хората са последвали волята на сатана и са започнали да въздигат Вавилонската кула. В съответствие с Принципа на възстановяване чрез изкупление, обединението на всички езици ще стане тогава, когато хората вземат участие в построяването на Божията “кула” и прославят Божията воля. Кой език ще послужи за основа на обединението на всички останали езици? Отговорът на този въпрос е ясен. Децата трябва да научат езика на родителите си. Ако Христос в действителност се завърне в Корея, той несъмнено ще говори на корейски език, който трябва да стане роден език за всички хора. В края на краищата, цялото човечество ще говори на този език. Ползвайки се с един език, то ще стане един народ и ще образува една световна страна под управлението на Бог.
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2201.1 2202.1 2204.1 2206.1 2207.1 2207.2 2208.1 2208.2 2208.3 2209.1 2209.2 2210.1 2210.2 2211.1 2212.1 2215.1 2216.1 2216.2 2217.1 2218.1 2218.2 2219.1 2220.1 2220.2 2221.1 2222.1 2222.2 2223.1 2224.1 2224.2 2225.1 2228.1 2229.1 2230.1 2230.2 2231.1 2233.1 2235.1 2236.1 2236.2 2237.1 2238.1 2238.2 2239.1 2240.1 2240.2 2241.1 2242.1 2243.1 2243.2 2244.1 2246.1 2247.1 2248.1 2249.1 2251.1 2252.1 2252.2 2253.1 2254.1 2255.1 2256.1 2257.1 2258.1 2261.1 2262.1 2263.1 2265.1 2266.1 2267.1 2268.1 2268.2 2269.1 2270.1 2272.1 2273.1 2274.1 2274.2 2275.1 2275.2 2276.1 2276.2 2277.1 2277.2 2278.1 2279.1 2280.1 2281.1 2282.1 2283.1 2283.2 2284.1 2284.2 2285.1 2285.2 2286.1 2289.1 2290.1 2291.1 2292.1 2293.1 2294.1 2294.2 2295.1 2295.2 2296.1 2297.1 2297.2 2298.1 2299.1 2301.1 2302.1 2303.1 2304.1 2305.1 2307.1 2308.1 2309.1 2310.1 2311.1 2311.2 2312.1 2313.1 2314.1 2314.2 2315.1 2315.2 2316.1 2317.1 2318.1 2319.1 2319.2 2320.1 2323.1 2325.1 2326.1 2327.1 2328.1 2330.1 2331.1 2332.1 2333.1 2335.1 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3455.1 3457.1 3457.2 3458.1 3460.1 3461.1 3462.1 3462.2 3463.1 3464.1 3464.2 3465.1 3466.1 3466.2 3467.1 3468.1 3469.1 3470.1 3470.2 3471.1 3472.1 3473.1 3474.1 3475.1 3475.2 3476.1 3476.2 3477.1 3479.1 3480.1 3480.2 3481.1 3482.1 3483.1 3484.1 3485.1 3486.1 3489.1 3490.1 3491.1 3492.1 3493.1 3493.2 3493.3 3494.1 3495.1 3496.1 3497.1 3497.2 3498.1 3499.1 3499.2 3500.1 3501.1 3502.1 3503.1 3504.1 3504.2 3505.1 3506.1 3506.2 3507.1 3508.1 3509.1 3510.1 3511.1 3512.1 3513.1 3513.2 3514.1 3515.1 3515.2 3516.1 3518.1 3518.2 3519.1 3521.1 3522.1 3522.2 3523.1 3524.1 3524.2 3525.1 3526.1 3527.1 3527.2 3528.1 3529.1 3529.2 3530.1 3530.2 3531.1 3532.1 3533.1 3533.2 3534.1 3535.1 3537.1 3538.1 3538.2 3539.1 3540.1 3541.1 3542.1 3542.2 3543.1 3544.1 3545.1 3546.1 3547.1 3549.1 3550.1 3550.2 3551.1 3552.1 3553.1 3555.1 3556.1 3556.2 3557.1 3558.1 3558.2 3559.1 3560.1 3560.2 3561.1 3561.2 3562.1 3562.2 3563.1 3564.1 3565.1 3565.2 3566.1 3567.1 3568.1 3569.1 3570.1 3571.1 3572.1 3573.1
CONTENTS Introduction THE FIRST PROOF Explicit verses on the Divinity of Christ The Divinity of Christ with Respect to Him Being One of the Holy Trinity THE SECOND PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Logos THE THIRD PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Creator THE FOURTH PROOF With Respect to Him Sending the Holy Spirit THE FIFTH PROOF With Respect to His Other Relations with the Holy Spirit THE SIXTH PROOF With Respect to His Descent from Heaven THE SEVENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Lord THE EIGHTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Son of God THE NINTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Only Son of God The Divinity of Christ with Respect to His Divine Attributes THE TENTH PROOF With Respect to the faith in Him THE ELEVENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Saviour and the Redeemer THE TWELFTH PROOF With Respect to His Relation with the Father THE THIRTEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being Beyond Time THE FOURTEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the First and the Last THE FIFTEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being Omnipresent THE SIXTEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Judge THE SEVENTEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Examiner of Hearts and Minds THE EIGHTEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being Good and Holy THE NINETEENTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Forgiver of Sins THE TWENTIETH PROOF With Respect to Him Accepting Worship and Prayer THE TWENTY-FIRST PROOF With Respect to Him Being the Giver of Life The Divinity of Christ with Respect to His Absolute Authority THE TWENTY-SECOND PROOF With Respect to His Authority over Nature THE TWENTY-THIRD PROOF With Respect to His Authority over Angels THE TWENTY-FOURTH PROOF Because the Kingdom Belongs to Him THE TWENTY-FIFTH PROOF With Respect to His Authority over Life and Death THE TWENTY-SIXTH PROOF With Respect to His Authority over the Law THE TWENTY-SEVENTH PROOF With Respect to His Authority over Himself THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PROOF With Respect to His Authority over Demons THE TWENTY-NINTH PROOF With Respect to Him Being the One to Whom Glory and Power Belong THE THIRTIETH PROOF With Respect to His Miracles EEE INTRODUCTION The Divinity of Christ The Divinity of Christ is one of the most important and vital subjects in the Christian doctrine. Many heresies rose against it in various eras, and the Church confronted them and replied to them. The most dangerous was the Arian Heresy which reached its peak in the fourth century and led to many Ecumenical Councils being held. The first Ecumenical Council in history was held in 325 A.D., attended by 318 bishops from all the churches of the world. Arius and his heresy were refuted, and the Christian Creed was formulated. Nevertheless, the residues of Arianism have continued to spread even till this day. Many atheist philosophers and scientists rose against the Divinity of Christ. The heresy of Jehovah's Witnesses rose against the Divinity of Christ. It was allegedly founded, in Pennsylvania, America, in 1872. Then in 1909 its headquarters moved to New York where a community was established under the name of "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society". They published many books, the most important of which were: Let God Be True, The Truth Shall Set You Free, The Harp of God, The Rich Man, Deliverance, Creation, The New Heaven and the New Earth, Government and Peace, Protection, Reconciliation, and various other publications called Tracts. In the following pages, we will try to discuss the subject of the Divinity of Christ in a positive light, and prove this fundamental doctrine from the Holy Bible. We will discuss all the objections and reply to them in due course. Many of the saints faced these objections and were contemporary with the Arian Movement. Among them were: Saint Athanasius the Apostolic who wrote Contra Arianos, Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers who wrote a treatise against the Arians called De Trinitate, Saint Basil the Great, Saint Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Saint Gregory Theologus of Nazianzum who wrote theological treatises and Saint Cyril of Jerusalem who delivered lectures to the catechumens. In our research on the Divinity of Christ, we will give proofs which will include clear verses pertaining to His Divinity with respect to: Him being the Logos (the Word) His relation with the Holy Spirit His relation with Heaven His relation with the Father Him being the Only Son Him being the Only Son of God Him being the Lord Him being the Redeemer and Saviour The belief in Him His Divine qualities (11) His authority over all Creation His miracles I began this research in July 1953 when I published the first article against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Sunday School Magazine, then in consecutive articles during 1953 / 54. taught it as a subject in the Theological Seminary during 1954 and also in the 1960s when I was bishop of the Seminary. replied to many questions pertaining to this subject in general lectures. And finally, I thought it fit to publish it as a subject of study to be taught in the various departments of our Theological Seminary. THE FIRST PROOF Explicit Verses On the Divinity of Christ This proof consists of the following: Proof that the Lord Jesus Christ is God Proof that there is only One God, that is, God Conclusion: Christ is This One God, that is, He is God Christ Is God 9:5): St. Paul the Apostle said in his discourse about the Jews: "and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. " The phrase 'over all ' gives power to Christ's Divinity; He is not God of certain people only, as the pagan gods are. The expression 'eternally' signifies the continuity of His worship and the infinity of His Divinity. (John 20:28): When Thomas said to the Lord: "My Lord and my God!", the Lord Jesus Christ accepted the title and reproached Thomas for believing only after seeing when he should have believed without seeing. (John 1:1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. " Although Jehovah's Witnesses, in their heterodoxy, say: "and the Word was a God", yet they do not deny the Divinity of Christ and consider Him second to Jehovah. In order not to enter into translation controversies with them, we say that their mere belief that He is a God leads to the fact that He is God, because there is only One God. (Matt. 1:23): The angel was referring to Isaiah's prophecy: "'Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel" which is translated, 'God with us"' (Is. The fact that Christ is 'God with us' is an obvious profession of His Divinity. That is why the prophet Isaiah explains this meaning when he says: 9:6): "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". It is probably the phrase 'Mighty God' in this verse that has made Jehovah's Witnesses say that Christ is a Mighty God, although in their opinion, He is not God. Strangely enough, this verse is from the Book of Isaiah in which the clauses: "I am the Lord and there is no other; there is no God besides Me", are repeated many times 1:7,8): When St. Paul the Apostle explained how the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than the angels, he said: "And of the angels He says: 'Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire. 'But to the Son He says: 'Your throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever. ' " St. Paul quoted this verse from Psalm 45, verse 6, where the reference to the Divinity of Christ is very clear. 3:16): "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. " It is obvious, from this verse, that Christ is God who was manifested in the flesh. But the heresy of Jehovah's Witnesses presents another translation: "Great is the mystery of godliness which was manifested in the flesh", which is incompatible with the continuation of the same verse. Because how could the mystery of godliness be seen by angels? Or how was it received up in glory? Was it not Christ who was seen by angels, ascended to heaven in glory, preached among the Gentiles and believed in the world? However, the theological facts are not based upon one verse: (1 Tim. 3:16) is similar to another verse: (Col. 2:9): St. Paul the Apostle says about the Lord Jesus Christ: "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. " The phrase "all the fullness of the Godhead" adds to the power of this verse. If all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in the Lord Jesus Christ, then He lacks nothing and He is God, and there is no other God but Him, because there is nothing outside the fullness. The expression 'bodily' signifies that This Godhead took a body or was manifested in the flesh as the previous verse (1 Tim. 3:16) explains, and as is explained in the following verse: (Acts 20:28): "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." It is known that God is Spirit (John 4:24) and a spirit has no blood. So, God did not purchase the Church with His blood unless He had taken flesh and sacrificed His blood for her. Here, we reach the same meaning of "God was manifested in the flesh". There is only One God This is clear from the first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before Me" (Ex. And from other verses in the Book of Deuteronomy, such as: "the LORD Himself is God,. there is none other besides Him" (Deut. 5:35), and: "Hear, 0 Israel.. The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. (3) The doctrine of One God is also clear in many verses in the Book of Isaiah, among which are: Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no Saviour." This is the chapter from which Jehovah's Witnesses extracted the phrase: " 'You are My witnesses,' says the LORD" (Is. 44:6): "I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God."(c) 45:5,6): "I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me."(d) 45:21,22): "Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Saviour; there is none besides Me. For I am God, and there is no other."(e) 46:9): "For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me." Another testimony on the Oneness of God is in the Book of Hosea the Prophet: "Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt, and you shall know no God but Me, for there is no Saviour besides Me" (Hos. We find the same testimony in the New Testament: 3:30): "...since there is one God" 8:4): "...there is no other God but one" (James 2:19): "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe - and tremble!" This means that even the demons, unfruitful as they are, know very well that there is one God and tremble from His Judgment. If there is mention in the Holy Bible of the word 'gods', it does not at all mean Deity. Sometimes it means the pagan gods as is mentioned in the Psalms: "For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols" (Ps. 96:4,5), and: "Worship Him, all you gods" (Ps. Naturally, those who worship another are not true gods. Another example, said by the Divine Inspiration in Psalm 82, is: "I said, 'You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes."' Naturally, he who dies and falls can not be a God. But it is a symbolical expression signifying power and authority, as when some of the Jews' enemies were afraid from the return of the Ark of the Covenant and said: " Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness" (1 Sam.4:8). They described all the people as gods which has a symbolic or a metaphoric meaning. Conclusion: Christ is God If there is only one God, by the testimony of the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, and if Christ is a God by the same testimony, then Christ is This One God. God says in the Book of Isaiah: "And there is no other God besides Me", and in the same Book the Divine Inspiration says that Christ is a "Mighty God." What does this mean other than the Two are One? THE SECOND PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Logos The Lord Jesus Christ was called 'The Word' in three important places: (John 1: 1): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." In this verse the reference to Christ's Divinity is very clear. (1 John 5:7): "For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one." Here also, the Divinity of Christ is clear. The term "the Word" in the above verse is in place of "the Son" in (Matt. (C) (Rev. 19:13): "He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God." The term "The Word" stands for "Logos" in Greek which conveys a linguistic, philosophical and terminological meaning. The word "Logos" is taken from the Greek verb legein from which the word logic in English is derived. It means the rational principle expressed in words. Hence the term "The Word" means the Logos or Reason, or Mind which is the position of the Person of the Son in the Holy Trinity. Naturally, the Reason of God is inseparable from Him. God and His Reason are One Entity. If Jehovah's Witnesses see that Christ is a Junior God to God (who is Supreme), they do not understand the meaning of the term "The Word" which is "the Logos " in (John 1: 1), and (1 John 5:7). If Christ is the Reason and the Logos of God, then He is God and He is Eternal, because the Reason and Logos of God existed with God since eternity. Therefore Christ is not created because any created being does not exist before his creation. Is it reasonable for anyone to think that there was a time when God existed without Reason, then He created Reason for Himself? And with what Reason did He create Reason for Himself? The apprehension of the Trinity teaches us the Eternity of the Three Persons. The Person of the Word is of the same substance of God Himself and has existed in Him since eternity. Therefore, the Second Person, The Logos or The Word is the Person of knowledge, or of reason or wisdom, in the Holy Trinity. He is Christ "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:.3). He is the Wisdom in the Trinity, which is why St. Paul the Apostle said that the Lord Jesus Christ is "the Wisdom of God" (1 Cor. That is why when The Word was Incarnate, we saw God in Him, "No one has seen God at any time" (John 1:18). That is to say, no one has seen God in His Divinity, but when He was Incarnate, when He was manifested bodily (1 Tim. saw Him in the flesh, we saw Him Incarnate. That is why St. John the Apostle says: "No one has seen God at any time. The Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (John 1:18). This means that Christ declared God to us, and through Him we are able to perceive God. The same meaning is given in (Col. 1: 15): "He is the image of the invisible God", and in (Phil. 2:5-7): "Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men." This means that if Christ appeared to be equal with God, He did not consider that robbery because He is verily so. But while being equal with the Father, He gave up all His glory, was Incarnate, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of man ... and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Phil. St. Paul the Apostle said about the Lord Jesus Christ in his Epistle to the Hebrews: "...through whom also He made the worlds,. who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels" (Heb. The phrase 'the express image of His person' means the image in which God manifested Himself in the Incarnation, and thus we could see Him; in the Person of Christ. That is why Christ the Lord said: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). He was Incarnate for our redemption to purge our sins. He gave up all His glory although He is the brightness of God's glory and the image of God (2 Cor .4:4) and had made the worlds. Here the Apostle presents one of the Divine attributes of Christ, of His being the Creator. He created the world because He is the Logos: the Reason and Wisdom of God. THE THIRD PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Creator Without controversy, God is the Creator, and the story of creation commences with the statement: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1: 1). The first chapter of Genesis explains how God created all things. In the Book of Isaiah, God says: "I am the Lord, who makes all things, who stretches out heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by Myself" (Is. 44:24), and: "I, the Lord, do all these things" (Is. However, there are other verses in the Holy Bible that refer to Christ the Lord as the Creator: (1) (John 1:3): St John the Evangelist says about the Lord Jesus Christ: "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made." Here the Evangelist does not only mention that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator, but also that none of creation was made without Him. He also says: "He was in the world and the world was made through Him" (John 1: 10). 1:2): St. Paul the Apostle says: "He made the worlds." (3) (Col. 1: 16): St. Paul also says: "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." (1 Cor.8:6): The Apostle also says: "... through whom are all things and through whom we live." The Holy Bible mentions miracles performed by the Lord Jesus Christ which prove that He is the Creator: The miracle of feeding the five thousand men from five loaves and two fish (Luke 9:10-17). In this miracle, the Lord created matter which had not existed with which He fed the thousands. What adds to the power of this miracle is the fact that all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets full of the leftover fragments were taken up. From where did all the leftover fragments come? It was matter newly created by the Lord Jesus Christ. This great miracle is mentioned by the four Evangelists. The miracle of feeding the four thousand men from seven loaves and a few little fish (Matt. The disciples took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left over. Here also the Lord created new matter which had not existed, and the ability to create is attributed to God alone. The miracle of changing water into wine in Cana of Galilee (John 2). This miracle is also an act of creation because water consists of oxygen and hydrogen only, so from where did the alcohol and the other constituents of wine come? The Lord Jesus Christ created all these elements in this miracle. The power of this miracle is that it happened by Christ's mere inner will, without Him doing any action or blessing or even giving an order to the water to change into wine. He only said: "'Fill the waterpots with water'. And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, 'Draw some out now' " (John Thus the water changed to wine merely by His will. He willed to create the substance of wine and it was created, even without a command. (4) Granting sight to the man born blind (John 9). Here the Lord Jesus Christ created eyes which had not existed before and created them out of mud, as He had created the first man. Mud, which if put on seeing eyes causes blindness, was put by the Lord into the sockets of the blind man, and two eyes were created. What adds to the power of this miracle is that the Lord ordered the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. Normally, washing mud dissolves it, but in this miracle, when the man washed with water, the mud was reinforced in his sockets as eyes and the water tied them with blood vessels, muscle and tissue. And the man born blind said to the Jews: "Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind" (John 9:32). Here we are faced with an important theological question: How can Christ be the Creator if creation is attributed to God alone? The Lord Jesus Christ was creating with the power of His Divinity, being the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, that is, the Reason of God. Who then created all things? Was it the Lord Jesus Christ or God the Father? God the Father created the whole universe by the Son; by His Reason; by His Knowledge; by His Word, that is, by the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Apostle says: "... through whom also He made the worlds" (Heb. 1:2), that is, by His Reason, by His Wisdom. THE FOURTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Sending the Holy Spirit This proof consists of the following points: God is Spirit God is the One who pours out and sends His Spirit The Lord Jesus Christ pours out, sends and breathes the Spirit of God Conclusion: Christ is God God Is Spirit This is clear from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24), and also from the Apostle's words: "Now the Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor.3:17). God Is the One Who Pours out His Spirit This is clear from the Lord's words in the Book of Joel: "I am the Lord your God and there is no other... And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams" (Joel 2:27-29). God Sends His Spirit to the World The Psalm says: "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth" (Ps. The Lord says in the Book of Ezekiel: "I will put My Spirit within you"(Ez. And in the Book of Numbers the Lord says: "Oh, that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" 1 1:29) St. Paul the Apostle says: "God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit" (1 The Lord Jesus Christ Pours out God's Spirit on His Disciples This is obvious from the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 33. This point does not need any proof to Jehovah's Witnesses. They confess in their book "Let God Be True" that "the Spirit of God was poured out on the disciples by the hand of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost." The Lord Jesus Christ Sends God's Spirit This is clear from the Gospel according to St. John, where the Lord said to His disciples: "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me" (John 15:26), and: "For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you" (John 16:7). The Lord Jesus Christ Breathes God's Spirit This is clear from the Gospel according to St. John, in which we read: "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (John 20:22). Conclusion: Christ Is God Who can pour out the Spirit of God, send the Spirit of God and breath the Spirit of God on people, except God Himself? And if the Lord Jesus Christ did these, is He not God, then? God says in the Book of Joel: "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh." St. Peter the Apostle uses this verse as a testimony on the Day of Pentecost at the descent of the Holy Spirit, saying: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh' " (Acts Moreover he says in the same chapter that the Lord Jesus, "being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). Then who is the Lord Jesus Christ who pours out the Spirit of God on people, but God Himself? We cannot imagine, nor can Jehovah's Witnesses, that there is a power other than God who can send the Spirit of God or pour out the Spirit of God. THE FIFTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Other Relations with the Holy Spirit In this proof, we will present two important points: The Holy Spirit Takes of What Is Christ's In the Lord's discourse with His disciples about the Holy Spirit, He said: "He will glorify Me for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14), and: "All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 15:16). How is it possible that the Spirit of God takes from another to give to people? How can this possibly be said about the Spirit of God who spoke through the prophets and taught them everything and granted them different gifts? How can the Spirit of God take from Christ unless Christ is God Himself? What is the spiritual interpretation of the Holy Spirit taking of what is Christ's? Christ is the Incarnate Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The Second Person is the Person of Reason, Knowledge, Understanding and Rational Expression in the Holy Trinity. Therefore, theologically speaking, the Holy Spirit can take from the Person of Knowledge. The Lord Jesus Christ explained this when He said: "All things that the Father has are Mine" (John 16: 15). Christ Was Conceived of the Holy Spirit In the story of the birth of Christ, we see that St. Matthew the Evangelist says: "After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with Child of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. This declaration is confirmed when the angel said to Joseph, 'for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. St. Luke the Evangelist recorded the words of the angel to the Virgin Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). Who then is Christ? And what is His Nature? Christ is of the Spirit of God, as St. Matthew the Apostle says, "...for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." That is why the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin Mary and she was found with Child of the Holy Spirit. Since Christ was born of the Holy Spirit, therefore His birth has two consequences, in accordance with the Gospel of St. Luke the Evangelist: First, that He is Holy and second, that He is the Son of God. Both consequences indicate His Divinity. God is Spirit (John 4:24) and Christ is of the Spirit of God. Therefore He is of the very essence of God and has the same Nature with Him. That is why He is called Holy which is one of God's names, as the Virgin called Him in her magnificat: "And holy is His name" (Luke 1:49). THE SIXTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Descent from Heaven The Lord Jesus Christ says: "I am the bread which came down from heaven" (John 6:41), and thus He is the Giver of life, 'for the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:33). The Lord Jesus Christ repeats: "I have come down from heaven" (John 6:38), and explains His coming down from heaven by saying: "I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father" (John He emphasizes the statement of His coming down from the Father by saying to His disciples: "The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God" (John 16:27). He also repeated this meaning in His discourse with the Jews in the same Gospel, Chapter 8, verse 42. Therefore, Christ is not from earth but from heaven. He came forth from the Father. That was His original dwelling, and His appearance in the flesh among people on earth is because He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men" (Phil. But He had to ascend to the heavens from which He descended. As for this earth, He existed before its creation, or rather it was He who created it. Yet, since eternity He has been in the Father who is His natural or rather His dignified dwelling. The Lord explained His descent from heaven and His ascension into it to Nicodemus when He said: "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:13). What is meant here by heaven is the heaven of heavens which nobody has ascended to or descended from except Christ, being the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, "who is in the bosom of the Father" (John 1:18). The heaven of heavens is where the throne of God is, because in the Sermon on the Mount the Lord said that heaven is God's throne (Matt. The expression 'the Son of Man who is in heaven' means that Christ was in heaven whilst He was on earth. Being on earth and in heaven at the same time is a proof of His Divinity. The event of His ascension into heaven (Acts.1:9) is the fulfilment of the words He said to His disciples: "Again, I leave the world and go to the Father" (John 16:28). Christ not only dwells in heaven, but has authority there. He received the spirit of St. Stephen the first deacon, who said whilst he was being stoned: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts.7:59). The Lord Jesus Christ granted the Penitent Thief to enter into Paradise which is the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2,4), when He said to him: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). Who receives the spirits of the departed and has the authority to let them into Paradise, except God Himself? Christ did that. Christ also gave the Apostles the keys of heaven. He said to St. Peter, representing the Apostles: "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. And He said to the Apostles: "whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt. Here, we ask a question: Who has the authority to give the keys of the kingdom of heaven to people and give them the authority to bind and loose there except God Himself? Christ is worshipped by the heavenly powers. The Apostle says that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth" (Phil. The worship of the angels to the Lord Jesus Christ is a proof of His Divinity. Christ is higher than the heavens and He is in heaven interceding for us. St. Paul the Apostle says that "He ever lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" (Heb. THE SEVENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Lord If the Lord is God and Christ is the Lord, then Christ is God. We will present here verses from the Holy Bible to prove this. 'LORD' Is One of God's Names God said in the Book of Isaiah the Prophet: "I, even I, am the Lord, and besides Me there is no Saviour" (Is. am the Lord, and there is no other, there is no God besides Me" (Is. 45:5), and: "Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me" (Is. The Lord Jesus Christ said, quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 6, verse 13: "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Luke 4:8); (Matt. He also said: " You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (Luke 4:12); (Matt. So the Lord is God, that is why it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy: "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords" (Deut. 10:17), and in the Book of Hosea: "I am the Lord your God.. and you shall know no God but Me" (Hos. One of the most important verses which prove that 'Lord' is one of the names of God alone is what the Lord Himself said in the Book of Isaiah: "I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another" (Is. The Lord Jesus Was Called 'Lord' on Many Occasions That Revealed His Divinity One of these occasions was the question asked by the Lord Jesus, which puzzled the Pharisees. When they said that Christ is the Son of David, He asked them: "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to My Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '? 110:1), "And no one was able to answer Him a word" (Matt. David called Christ 'Lord', and the phrase 'sit at My right hand' adds to the power of the verse. The title 'Lord' was used in addressing the Lord Jesus Christ in prayers. Prayer is worship in which the word 'Lord' should be addressed to God only. Regarding this the Lord Jesus Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven"(Matt. Here, the Lord says that prayers addressed to Him without good deeds are in vain. The same meaning is conveyed when He said: "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord, 'and do not do the things which I say?" The name 'Lord' will be used in addressing Christ on the Day of Judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ said: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' " (Matt. The discourse of those people with Christ as being the Judge, and His executing Judgment are proofs of His Divinity. Undoubtedly, the fact that people will address Christ on the Day of Judgment as 'Lord' is proof of His Divinity because He is the One who decides their destiny. The phrases 'prophesied in Your name' and 'cast out demons in Your name' said in the most serious hour, the hour of Judgment, are also proofs of Christ's Divinity. In the Lord's discourse about His sitting on the throne of His glory on the Day of Judgment, He said that both the righteous and the wicked will address Him as 'Lord'. The righteous will say: "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?" (Matt. 25:37) In the same manner of speech the wicked will address Him, saying: "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" (Matt. both of them will receive from Him the sentence of their everlasting destiny. It will be an awesome hour in which everyone will address Christ, who will be sitting on the throne of His glory surrounded by all the holy angels, as God (Matt. The same applies to the Lord's discourse about the Day of Judgment when the wicked will stand outside, saying: "Lord, Lord. open for us" (Luke 13:25). The name 'Lord' was addressed to Christ at the hour of death which is a very awkward hour. The hour of death is everyone's concern, especially the virtuous who are very watchful over their salvation and cautious of every utterance of their speech. We see that a great saint like St. Stephen the first deacon, at the hour of his death, said: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). St. Stephen confessed that Jesus is the Lord into whose hands he commended his spirit. He said these words after he had seen Christ standing at the right hand of God in the highest. It is an explicit confession of Christ's Divinity. Similarly was the confession of the Penitent Thief who said: "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:42), and the Lord accepted this title from him and promised him that he would be with Him in Paradise that same day. This means that the belief of the Penitent thief in Christ as the Lord made him worthy of Paradise. The name 'Lord' was attributed to Christ in the domain of creation. St. Paul the Apostle says: "One Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live" (1 The title 'Lord' was given to Christ by St. Thomas the Apostle in expressing his faith. Having believed, after he had put his finger into the print of the nails, he said: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28) It was a very plain statement professing the Divinity of Christ. The Lord Jesus accepted from Thomas this statement and this faith, and reproached him for being late in professing this faith, saying: " Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). When the jailer believed and wanted to be saved, the Apostles Paul and Silas answered him, saying: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:3 1). The term 'Lord' here is used in the sense of 'God' because it is connected with faith and salvation which are related to God alone. The name 'Lord' was attributed to Christ in relation to the glory. St. Peter the Apostle said: "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen" (2 Pet. It is obvious that this verse indicates Christ's Divinity. Of course, there is a vast difference between 'a lord' and 'the Lord'. In addition to this, the expression 'our Lord and Saviour' is used only in connection with God, especially when the words 'To Him be the glory both now and forever' are added to it. St. James the Apostle says in gentle reproach: "My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality" (James 2:1). The Apostle emphasise that faith should not be without good works. The importance of this verse lies in the terms 'our Lord', and 'the Lord of glory' and in their connection with faith which is used only when talking about God. The expression 'the Lord of glory' is a proof of Divinity because glory has no lord but God. And the expression 'Lord of glory' is much stronger than the expression 'to Him be glory'. Both of these expressions were said about the Lord Jesus Christ. The expression 'the Lord of glory' was repeated in the words of St. Paul the Apostle about the wisdom of God, which none of the rulers of that age knew; "for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Cor.2:8). The Lord Jesus Christ was called Lord of lords. This title is attributed to God only. It is written in the Book of Deuteronomy: "For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome" (Deut. We see that the title 'Lord of lords' was given to the Lord Jesus Christ on more than one occasion. In the Book of Revelation, it is written: "And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16), and: "These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings" (Rev. 17:14). Who then is the Lord of lords and King of kings but God Himself? And this was said about the Lord Jesus Christ in expressions indicating His Divinity. (11) The Lord Jesus was also called 'the Lord of the Sabbath'. In His discourse with the Pharisees about deeds of mercy, the Lord Jesus replied to them in a way directing their attention to His Divinity. He said: "But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple... 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice' ", and concluded His discourse by saying: "For the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Matt. Everyone knew that the Sabbath was the Lord's Day and that the Law of the Sabbath was a Law given by God Himself. But behold, the Lord Jesus Christ said that He is Lord even of the Sabbath, which means that He is the Lord of the Lord's Day and the Author of the Law itself. These words cannot be said except by God Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ was also called 'the Lord our Righteousness'. In the prophecy of Jeremiah the prophet, it is written: "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness,. a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth... Now this is His name by which He will be called.. THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jer. This prophecy has been fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ because He became our righteousness after granting us righteousness through His blood. (13) Christ was called 'Lord' in the events of performing miracles. St Peter, after walking with Him on the water, was afraid when he saw the boisterous wind. He started to sink so he cried out, saying: "'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hands and caught him (Matt. those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God"' (Matt. We can see here that the title 'Lord' was used at the moment of a miracle. Then worshipping Him and confessing that He was the Son of God happened immediately after, as an indication of His Divinity. The title 'Lord' was used by St. Elizabeth when she greeted the Virgin Mary. St. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit when she heard the Virgin's greeting, and said to her: "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for St. Elizabeth said this when she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and feeling unworthy to be visited by the mother of the Lord. That was a confession of Christ's Divinity. In the domain of performing miracles, we observe two testimonies from the Apostles. After the miracle of catching a great number of fish, St. Peter, prior to his call, fell down on his knees and worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ, saying: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord!" The power of this verse is centered on the phrase 'O Lord' which followed a miracle and was accompanied by worship. It is not an ordinary phrase. The expression 'I am a sinful man' gives depth to the feeling of unworthiness of having the Holy Lord in his boat. After the Lord's Resurrection, in the miracle of catching a great number of fish, we find the same situation. John said to Peter: "It is the Lord!" (John 21:7), and: "Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, 'Who are You?' - knowing that it was the Lord"(John 21:12). After the miracle of the Resurrection, the term 'Lord' was used numerously: "Mary Magdelene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord" (John 20:18). "Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord" "The other disciples therefore said to him (Thomas), 'We have seen the Lord' " (John 20:25). The disciples said: "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Peter said three times to the Lord Jesus Christ: "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You" (John 21:15-17). The angels used the title 'Lord' in referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, whether in declaring His birth or His resurrection. At His birth the angel said to the shepherds: "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10,11). On the day of the Lord Jesus Christ's Resurrection, the angel said to the women: "You seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay" (Matt. Here we see the angel's testimony that Christ is the Lord. The title 'Lord' was also mentioned in the miracle of the Ascension. St. Mark the Evangelist says: "So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs" (Mark Here the word 'Lord' is used at the event of Christ's Ascension into heaven, and at His sitting down at the right hand of the Father, and in confirming signs which accompanied the disciples' preaching. This means that the word 'Lord' is not used in an ordinary way but regarding belief in Christ's Divinity. On many occasions the Evangelists used the word 'Lord' to mean Christ. In the miracle of raising the son of the widow of Nain, St. Luke, speaking about the widow, says: " When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, 'Do not weep' " (Luke 7:13). When the disciples experienced the submission of the demons to them, they said to the Lord Jesus Christ: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name" (Luke 10:17). In the miracle of the Transfiguration, the disciples said to Him: "Lord, it is good for us to be here" (Matt. At the event of Peter's denial, St Luke says: "And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times"'(Luke 22:61). In the story of Zacchaeus, St Luke says: "Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor"' (Luke 19:8). Also, in Chapter 22, verses 31 to 61, the word 'Lord' is attributed to Christ six times. The title 'Lord' was used for Christ in the other books of the New Testament. It is written in the Book of Acts, at the event of Saul's conversion. "And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting...' So he... said, 'Lord, what do you want me to do?"' (Acts 9:5,6) The word 'Lord' here is used on an occasion when the Lord appeared in a great light, causing Saul's conversion. St. Paul the Apostle said: "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they" (Acts 15:11). The term 'grace' was repeated many times, such as in: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ... be with you all" (2 Cor. Undoubtedly, the term 'grace' used with the term 'Lord' , in giving the blessing, has Divine implications. The Apostle also says: "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17). Undoubtedly, the fact that every deed or word should be done in Christ's name is an indication of His Divinity as He is the Lord. The Apostle explained the relation of Christ, as Lord, with God the Father. After having said that to Christ "every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth", he immediately said that "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10,11), because Christ is "His glory and the express image of His person" (Heb. 1:3); hence, he who has seen Christ has seen the Father (John 14:9). Lastly, we point out that before being called 'Lord', 'my Lord', and '0 Lord', Christ attributed this title to Himself. He did not object at all to being called 'Lord, Lord', or 'our Lord'. In the story of the Passover, we find that when the Lord sent two disciples to prepare Him a colt to ride on, on entering Jerusalem, He said to them: "Say, 'The Lord has need of it' "(Mark 11:3); (Luke 19:31). The phrase 'The Lord Jesus' is used to terminate the New Testament. The last two verses in the Book of Revelation are: "'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. At the Lord Jesus Christ's Second Coming, we receive Him with the phrase: "Come, Lord Jesus!" and until He comes, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us. The word 'Lord' is an explicit testimony that Christ is God because we never say 'our Lord' to human beings. THE EIGHTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Son of God In this proof we are met with an important point: Are not human beings also called children of God? Yes, human beings were called sons of God, but in a different sense than Christ's Sonship to God. It is written in the Book of Genesis that "the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful" (Gen. 6:2). Here the sons of God mean the sons of Seth and his son Enosh, when "men began to call on the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4:26), while the daughters of men are the descendants of Cain. That is why the Lord said in the Book of Isaiah the Prophet: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me" (Is. It is also written in the same Book: "You, 0 Lord, are our Father; our Redeemer" (Is. 63:16), and: "But now, 0 Lord, You are our Father,. we are the clay, and You our Potter; and all we are the work of Your hand" (Is. This is a prophecy but it is said by human beings and does not at all mean Sonship of the essence of God. The Lord said in the Book of Exodus: "Israel is My son, My first born" (Ex. 4:22), and in the Book of Proverbs: "My son, give Me your heart" (Prov. In the New Testament God is called 'our Father' in many situations, as we say in the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father in heaven" (Matt. The phrases: 'your heavenly Father 'and' your Father who sees in secret are numerous in the Gospels. However, the Sonship of human beings to God is either through faith, or love, or adoption. With regard to faith, the Holy Bible says about Christ: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1: 12). The phrase 'children of God' here means the believers. St. John says in his first Epistle: "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!"(1 John 3:1) Therefore, it is an act of love from God to call us His children. With regard to adoption it is written in the Epistle to the Romans: "But we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body" (Rom. It is known that whoever is called son and is not a real son, is son by adoption or son in a spiritual sense. Although we are children of God, we are still called servants. The Lord Jesus Christ says: "When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do' All the virtuous were called servants; the Lord will say to him who fought the good fight and deserved the Kingdom of Heaven: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. Despite our being children of God, we are all created beings and the created being is not to be called a God. But the Lord Jesus Christ's Sonship is of the essence of God Himself. That is why He was sometimes called the Son or the Only Son because He has a unique Sonship which has the same Nature and Divinity with God. Here we will explain how Christ's Sonship to the Father is not an ordinary Sonship, and how it was testified to by all, even by God the Father Himself, at moments of miracles in a way implying the Divinity of the Son. The testimony of the Father to the Son at His baptism. God the Father testified to Christ at the moment of His baptism, saying: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. This testimony was accompanied by miraculous signs: the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove and descended on Him, and a voice was heard from heaven, which was the voice of the Father bearing testimony. If Christ's Sonship was an ordinary sonship, and all people are children of God, what then was the need for all those signs? For the sake of this greatness which was manifested at the moment of Christ's baptism, we name this event Epiphany, that is, the Divine Manifestation. God the Father also testified to the Son at the Transfiguration. The Father testified to the Son at that moment which declared His Divinity in front of His three disciples when "His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses... And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"' Christ was an ordinary Son, why would He need a testimony from the Father? And why was there need for all the glory of the Transfiguration; the light and the cloud? And why was there need for the voice of the Father? In addition to this, the phrase 'Hear Him' commands us also to submit to Him. If everyone was a Son of God, to whom did the Father testify with the same glory as that of Christ's baptism and transfiguration? The Father's testimony to the Son is from old. The Father says to the Son in the second Psalm: " You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron" (Ps. This is Sonship with dominion over the ends of the earth, which St. Paul wondered at and mentioned when he explained how the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than the angels and even worshipped by them, saying: "For to which of the angels did He ever say, 'You are My Son, today I have begotten You'?" (Heb. Christ's Sonship to God was the aim of writing the Gospel. The Gospel according to St. Mark begins with the statement: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (Mark 1: 1). If Christ was a Son like all the children of God, what was the need for recording this statement and all the miracles which the Evangelist recounted thereafter? In the Gospel according to St. John, we see that the Evangelist, after having recorded miracles not mentioned by any of the other Evangelists and after having recorded all Christ's discourses that indicated His Divinity, concluded by saying: "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book,. but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name"(John 20:30,3 1). Therefore, Christ's Sonship is not ordinary, but a unique Sonship which is proved by verses emphasising His Divinity. If He was an ordinary Son, what was the need for recounting all the miracles? They were written in order that we may believe that He is the Son of God and that our belief in this Sonship may give us life. Christ's Sonship to God was the foundation of the Church. The Lord Jesus Christ asked His disciples about their belief and the people's belief in Him, saying: " Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?" When St. Peter answered Him: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", He called him blessed, saying: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." Then the Lord added, "on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it"(Matt. If Christ's Sonship was an ordinary sonship, what was the need for this blessedness? And what was the need for the heavenly revelation from God the Father? What is the meaning of building the Church on this rock of faith? This will be explained in detail when we will talk about the Divinity of Christ with respect to belief in Him as the Son of God. Christ's Sonship to God was the reason for the Sanhedrin's sentencing Him to death. The chief priests could not find a reason to condemn Him because even though many false witnesses came forward, their testimonies did not agree. So the high priest rose and said to Him: I adjure You by the living God that You tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God" (Matt. If His Sonship was an ordinary sonship like the sonship of all the people to God, what was the significance of the high priest adjuring Him before the greatest Synagogue at the time asking Him if He was the Son of God? When the Lord answered in the affirmative, adding two points befitting His Divinity, namely, that He will sit at the right hand of the {Father} and will come in His glory on the clouds of heaven, "the highpriest tore his clothes, saying, 'He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!"' (Matt. And they sentenced Him to death for this reason. (11) Christ's Sonship was the object of Satan's bewilderment. In the Lord's temptation in the wilderness, we find Satan saying to Him: "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread" (Matt. Satan's question implied the Sonship to God which has extraordinary miraculous power that can change stone into bread, and not the ordinary sonship of all the children of God. Again Satan asked the same question at the Crucifixion, through the mouths of the people who said: "If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross" (Matt. Therefore it was understood by all that Christ's Sonship was not a common sonship, but a Sonship which had miraculous power that could enable descent from the cross. (12) This Sonship was the subject of the Annunciation. The angel said to the Virgin Mary: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). If Christ was the Son of God in the same sense as the children of God, then there would have been no need for the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin and for the power of the Highest to overshadow her, in order for Him to be called the Son of God. Therefore this Sonship is the Sonship of the Holy Spirit, as the angel said to Joseph: "for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. Also, the angel said to the Virgin Mary that her Son "will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32,33). No one among men rules forever and has a kingdom which has no end; but this is attributed to God alone. Therefore the Annunciation to the Virgin about the Sonship to God carried a Divine meaning that He reigns forever, and that His kingdom will have no end. There is a possibility that the angel's announcement was taken from Daniel's prophecy about Christ as the Son of Man, which says: "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed" (Dan. The relation of Christ's Sonship to the Godhead is mentioned in the Book of Isaiah who said: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Is. In the same prophecy we find both terms 'Son' and 'Mighty God', and the word 'Wonderful' reminds us of the Lord's words to Manoah, Samson's father: "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" The relation between Christ's Sonship to the Godhead is also mentioned in the Book of Proverbs, which says: "Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name and what is His Son's name, if you know?" (Prov. Here, the Scripture does not refer to an ordinary son of God's children but an Only Son, distinguished from all others because He is of the same Nature and Essence with God. There is a profession of Christ's Sonship to God in the miracle of walking on the sea. This miracle implies His Divinity because it is a miraculous dominion over nature. The Lord Jesus Christ walked on the water in a wonderful miraculous way the disciples had never seen. Then St. Peter said to Him: "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. " When the Lord permitted him, Peter walked on the water by the power of the Lord, then doubted and sank, and the Lord saved him. What happened after that? The Gospel says: "Then those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God"'(Matt. Did the disciples mean by the word 'Son' ordinary sonship like the rest of God's children? This is impossible because walking on water and allowing one's disciple to walk on water is not an aspect of being one of God's children. That is why the disciples worshipped Christ whilst using the expression 'Son of God'. Their worship was a profession that Christ is the Son of God and that His Sonship is unique and of extraordinary miraculous dominion over wind and water. Nathanael also professed that Christ is the Son of God whose Sonship is of miraculous and mighty Divinity. The Lord said to Nathanael: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" (John 1:48). When Nathanael realized the power of the Lord to know the unseen whether He saw him just before Philip called him, or knew a hidden incident in his past, he replied saying: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!"(John 1:49) Of course Nathanael did not mean the ordinary sonship, but he meant the Sonship which has the Divine quality of knowing the unseen. The Lord Jesus Christ accepted this confession from Nathanael and in order to confirm his belief, added: "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these... hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man" (John 1:50,5 1). (17) The belief of the centurion in Christ as the Son of God happened after a miracle. The Gospel according to our teacher St. Matthew says: "Now when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Son of God!"' (Matt. When they saw the miracle of the earthquake and the darkness that came over the whole earth from the sixth hour (midday) until the ninth hour, they believed and said: "Truly this was the Son of God!" They meant the Sonship which has dominion over nature and that is why the Gospel says: "they feared." Maybe their faith was strengthened when they saw blood and water coming out of His side when the soldier pierced Him The miracle of the Lord's Baptism made John the Baptist testify that Christ was the Son of God. He said: "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptise with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptises with the Holy Spirit.' And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of This Sonship to God, to which John the priest and prophet testified, is not an ordinary sonship but a Sonship which implied His Divinity, and was declared after a miracle. That was why John the Baptist said on the same occasion: "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me"' (John 1:30), and it is known that Christ was born six months after John the Baptist. A confession of Christ's Sonship to God came after the miracle of giving sight to the man born blind. After performing the miracle, the Lord met the man born blind and said to him: " 'Do you believe in the Son of God?' He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him? 'And Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you. 'Then he said, 'Lord, I believe!' And he worshipped This discourse was not about a common sonship shared by all people, otherwise the man born blind would not have asked: "Who is He, Lord?" If it were an ordinary sonship, the man born blind would have said: "We are all God's children. I, even I, am a son of God." But it was a Sonship which needed faith and a miracle, and resulted in the man born blind worshipping the Lord as the Son of God. What adds to the importance of this miracle is that it carries a declaration from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself that He is the Son of God, as well as a call from Him to all people to believe in this. The belief in Christ's Sonship to God needed preaching and interpretation. This appears explicitly in the incident of the Ethiopian eunuch who was met by Philip whilst reading Isaiah's prophecy about Christ. He could not understand the meaning of what he was reading, so Philip explained the chapter to him and preached Christ to him. The Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip to baptise him and Philip replied: "'If you believe with all your heart, you may. 'And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God"' (Acts 8:27-37). Common sonship does not need any explanation or interpretation or preaching because it is common to all. The same may be said about Martha who professed her belief after the Lord had explained to her that He is the resurrection and the life, saying: "'He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live'... She said to Him, 'Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world' " (John 11:25-27). Of course Martha meant a special Sonship which has a miraculous quality ascertained by the clause "who is to come into the world" which means that He is not of this world, but has come into it. Christ's Sonship was declared by the Lord Jesus Himself on more than one occasion. It is clear from His call to the man born blind to believe in the Son of God (John 9:35- And also from His words to the angel of the church in Thyatira in the Book of Revelation where He says: "These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass" (Rev. 2:18). It is also plain in all the Lord's discourses about the Son of God. Christ's Sonship is in the Holy Trinity. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. The use of the word 'name' in the singular form means that the Three are One. Because His Sonship to the Father is not a common sonship but a special One entailing His Divinity, He is called 'the Son'. The phrase 'the Son' in the Holy Bible means Christ only. The Lord Jesus Christ says of Himself. "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). He said these words in preaching that He came to free them from their sins. St. John the Evangelist said: "He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John Thus he used in one verse the two terms: 'the Son' and 'the Son of God' to refer to One Person. He also said: "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world" (1 John 4:14). The term 'the Son' on its own means Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ talked about Himself as the Son and as the Son of God. The Jews understood this Sonship to God with its Divine meaning. That was why when they asked Him in the Sanhedrin if He was the Son of God, and He replied in the affirmative, "the high priest tore his clothes, saying, 'He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses?' " (Matt. The Gospel according to St. John says: "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (John 5:18). This Divinity was the reason for the Jews seeking to kill Him, as they said to Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God" (John 10: 33). That was the accusation for which they crucified Him, saying to Pilate: "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God" (John 19:7). The common sonship, of which Isaiah said: "O Lord, You are our Father" (Is. 64:8), was not the reason of sentencing Christ to death, but it was the particular Sonship which carries the meaning of His Divinity and that He is equal with God. This leads us to the ninth proof. EEE THE NINTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Only Son of God The Lord Jesus Christ was called the only Son of God to distinguish Him from the rest of God's children who are called children through love, faith and adoption. He is the Only Son, who has the same Nature, Essence and Divinity with God. Christ was called 'the Only Son' in the following places: "No one has seen God at any time. The Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him"(John 1:18). This means that Christ declared God and we knew God through His seen Incarnate Son, whereas the Father can not be seen in His Divinity. "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). "He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God" (John If the belief in This Only Son gives everlasting life and takes away condemnation, then this is a proof of His Divinity. "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His Only Begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9). We cannot live through Him unless He is God Himself because God is the Source of life. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father full of grace and truth"(John l: 14). Here the Evangelist is talking about the glory that befits Christ as the Only Son of God. These are five verses in the Holy Bible which speak about Christ the Lord as the Only Son of the Father and distinguish Him from the rest of mankind. We have spoken in detail about the Divinity of the Son in the previous proof. It suffices that according to the above verses, Christ is the Source of life, everlasting life is through Him, belief in Him delivers from condemnation and judgment, as not believing in Him brings condemnation, and He has the glory befitting the Only Son of God. And the mere belief in Him proves His Divinity as we will explain. THE TENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to the faith in Him (1) The belief should be in God only. On this belief hangs the everlasting life and destiny of man. That is why we find a very important verse in the Holy Bible, namely, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "You believe in God, believe also in Thus He put the belief in Him equal with the belief in the Father and having the same importance. (2) If the belief in Christ leads to eternal life (John 3:16), therefore disbelief in Him leads to perdition. Thence the Lord also says: "For if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins" (Jn.8:24). Regarding belief in Him and life, He says at the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead: "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25,26). (3) The belief in Christ is a matter of salvation. The salvation of man depends upon belief in Him. That is why St. Paul and St. Silas said to the jailer at Philippi: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:3 1). Naturally this would be accomplished provided that he walked in the paths connected with this belief, for example: "He who believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). Who then is Christ, if whoever believes in Him receives remission of sins? St. Peter the Apostle said at the conversion of Cornelius: "To Him all the prophets witnessed that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of Also, St. Paul the Apostle said at the Council of Antioch in Pisidia: "Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things" (Acts 13:38,39). Of course we add to this belief the words of St. Peter the Apostle to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost. After they had been cut to the heart, they believed and inquired about the way of salvation. So St. Peter said to them: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Thence, belief leads to baptism, and baptism leads to remission of sins, and remission of sins involves justification through the blood of Christ. And there are numerous verses about belief and justification, and also about baptism that leads to receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts Therefore there is a relation between belief in Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit. He who believes in Christ is qualified to receive the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ said: " 'He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given" (John 7:38,39). The belief in Christ is preceded by the work of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle said: "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1 Cor. This fact explains why the Holy Spirit came down upon Cornelius and those with him before their baptisms. It was a preliminary work of the Holy Spirit, different from the descent of the Holy Spirit whom the faithful received by the laying on of hands (Acts 8:17), and then by the Holy Anointing (1 John 2:20,27). It is also said about the consequences of the belief in Christ that: "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame" (Rom.9:33); (Rom. This means that the person who believes in Christ will not be put to shame on the Day of Judgment, that is, on the Last Day. Thus the belief in Christ is not a simple matter, but a serious one on which depends man's eternal life. How serious are the Apostle's words: "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36)! The belief in Christ is also connected with salvation, with the remission of sins and with the gift of the Holy Spirit as we have already mentioned. And when we mention this belief we mean it comprehensively, inclusive of all the elements pertaining to it such as baptism, repentance and deeds which are the fruit of the faith and which enable the faith to be a living one. Baptism, with all its spiritual efficacious, is also dependent on this belief because it can never be carried out without belief first. That was why, when the Ethiopian eunuch requested Philip to baptize him, Philip replied: "If you believe with all your heart, you may. " Then the eunuch replied: "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37). The belief in Christ was the aim of writing the Gospel. Thus says St. John the Evangelist about all the verses he recorded in his Gospel: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:3 1). (11) This belief entitles the believer to be a child of God by being born of water and the Spirit (John 3:5). That is why the Gospel says: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12). There is no man whatsoever in the world who can cause whoever believes in him to receive all the spiritual gifts we mentioned, which are connected with the believer's eternal life, his position as a child of God, and his membership in the Church through faith and baptism. What is the nature of the belief in Christ? You believe that Jesus is the Christ; that He is the Son of God (John 20:31); that He is the Only Begotten Son of the Father (John 3:16,18) with all the Divine meanings which this phrase carries; that He is in the Father and the Father in Him (John 14: 10,1 1); that he who sees Christ has seen the Father (John 14:9); that in Him is life (John 1:4); that He is the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14); that He is the Propitiator for our sins (1 John 4:10); (1 John 2:2), and you believe in His words and in the path He designed for our salvation. All these denote the Divinity of Christ and we add to them your belief in His Divine attributes. THE ELEVENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Saviour and the Redeemer This proof involves four main points: God alone redeems and saves the human race The theological basis of this fact Christ alone is the Redeemer and Saviour of the world Conclusion: Christ is God. God Alone Redeems and Saves the Human Race The Holy Bible explicitly testifies to this It is written in the Book of Psalms: "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him... But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave"(Ps.49:7,15). David the Prophet repeats the same meaning when he says: "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul; bless His holy name! ... who forgives all your iniquities, ..., who redeems your life from destruction" (Ps. And the Book of Isaiah the Prophet confirms this matter in more than one testimony. It is written: "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God' " (Is.44:6). Therefore the Redeemer is This One God who is the Lord of hosts who is the First and the Last. Isaiah the Prophet repeats the same thing and says: "As for our Redeemer, the Lord of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel" (Is.47:4) and: "Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.. 'I am the Lord your And God says: "'For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand...' says the LORD and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel" (Is.41:13,14). The Virgin Mary attributed salvation to God and said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour" (Luke 1:46). St. Paul the Apostle said: "God our Saviour" (Titus 2: 10), and: "The kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared" (Titus 3:4). And Jude the Apostle concludes his Epistle with the same testimony, saying: "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Saviour who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Salvation is attributed to God alone, as is explicitly stated by God Himself. "And you shall know no God but Me; for there is no Saviour besides me" (Hos.13:4); "Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Saviour, there is none besides Me" (Is.45:21), and: "I, the Lord, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of (B) The Theological Basis of this Fact The sin in which the first man fell and in which every man falls is a sin against God because it is disobedience to God, and lack of love and respect towards Him. But rather it is rebellion against His Kingdom and resistance to the work of His grace and His Holy Spirit, as well as being a lack of faith. That is why David the Prophet says in his Psalm: "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight" (Ps.51:4). That is why the righteous Joseph withheld from sinning, saying: "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" All human beings sinned: "They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one" (Ps. The wages of sin is death (Rom.6:23), and "thus death spread to all men, because all Because sin is against God and since God is Infinite, then sin is infinite and its punishment is infinite. Should it be redeemed, it must be by an infinite atonement, sufficient for the forgiveness of all the people of all generations to the end of the ages. Only God is Infinite. Therefore He Himself had to take flesh and become the Son of Man in order to replace man and "to be the propitiation for the whole world" (1 John 2:2). This propitiation was effected by the Lord Jesus Christ to save the whole world. If He were not God, His propitiation would be utterly invalid because His propitiation derived its infinity from Him being Infinite God, of whom the Apostle said: "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily"(Col.2:9). (C) Christ Is the Only Saviour and Redeemer of the World At the Annunciation, the angel said that Christ the Lord would be called Jesus, "for He will save His people from their sins"(Matt. Yet His salvation was not for His own people only, for He said: "I did not come to judge the world but to save the world" (John 12:47). And it was said of Him: "This is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). And He said of Himself that He "has come to save that which was lost" (Matt. 18:1 1), and the whole world was under the penalty of death. Christ came to save mankind from sins. It is written that "He will save His people from their sins" (Matt. St. Paul the Apostle said: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Tim. 1:15), that He "gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed" (Titus 2:14), and that He "has redeemed us from the curse of the law" (Gal.3:13). Christ offered a complete and everlasting salvation. St. Paul the Apostle said that Christ, the High Priest, "is also able to save to the uttermost" (Heb.7:25) and that "He became the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him"(Heb. That is why the Apostle wondered, saying: "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation!" Therefore, to sum up, Christ came a Redeemer and a Saviour and a Propitiator to save all the people of the world from their sins, and to redeem them from all their iniquities and from the curse of the Law. He offered an everlasting salvation to the uttermost. Christ Alone Is the Saviour St. Peter the Apostle said: "For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts Conclusion: Christ Is God As we mentioned before, the salvation of the world from sins needed an infinite propitiation and none is Infinite except God alone. Since the Lord Jesus Christ offered the propitiation and completed it to the uttermost and redeemed all the people from every iniquity, saving them eternally from the curse of the Law, therefore, He is Infinite and hence He is God. The act of redemption is an excellent proof confirming that Christ is God because if He were not so, the redemption would not have been considered valid and would not have been sufficient for the salvation of the whole world from all their sins. God says: "You shall know no God but Me; for there is no Saviour besides Me" (Hos. 13:4), and: "there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Saviour, there is none besides Me" (Is.45:21). And it has been proved that there is a Saviour who is Christ Jesus who is the only Saviour and that there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). How can we make all these verses conform with each other? Is God not true or is the Holy Bible not true? Far from it. Let God be true. God cannot be true unless God is Christ so that if we say that God is the Saviour, we mean at the same time that Christ is the Saviour. If Christ was not God, and having sacrificed Himself for the sake of all people because of His love for them, does He love people more than God does? Is there any being who surpasses God in His love to mankind? Not even Jehovah's Witnesses can say such a thing. If Christ was other than God, and He was compelled to complete the work of redemption for the mere obedience of a command, then redemption would have lost its most important principle, and in addition, it would contradict the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). And this also would disagree with the Holy Bible which says that Christ "gave Himself up for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed" (Titus 2:14). If Christ was other than God, and God commissioned Him to undertake this deed because of God's love to the world according to the verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son" (John 3:16), does this mean that God loved the world at the expense of Another? No, never! This verse cannot be properly understood unless God and Christ are One, as the Lord Jesus said: "I and My Father are Thus we understand that God redeemed the people Himself, accomplishing the words of the Holy Book: "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him... But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave" (Ps.49:7,15). Then the words of St. Paul the Apostle: "because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour Of all men"(1 Tim. 4: 10), will be true. If Christ was other than God, then people would not be wrong when they worship Him and not God, because He created them from nothing, according to the Bible's words: "All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3,10). Jehovah's Witnesses profess that Christ is the Creator and that He bought them with His precious Blood, and purified them for Himself as His own special people (1 Pet. Who can blame a nation who worship their own Creator and Saviour? We adhere to the belief that Christ is God, not only because it is the fundamental proof of completing the work of redemption, but also because it is an affirmation of God's words: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death" (Hos. God attributed to Himself this deed which He carried out. So let God be true. And let Christ's words: "I and My Father are One" (John EEE THE TWELFTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Relation with the Father The relation of the Son with the Father proves the Son's Divinity. The major part of this relation is given by declarations from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In some of these declarations, the Jews wanted to kill Him. We will now discuss the most important characteristics of the relation of the Father with the Son. If the Son is the Logos of God, this undoubtedly implies the Son's Divinity, because God and His Logos are one Entity and also it is said that Christ is the Wisdom and Power The Lord Jesus Christ said: "I and My Father are One" (John 10:30), and the Jews understood the seriousness of this declaration from the point of view of His Divinity, so they took up stones to stone Him. When He asked them why they wanted to stone Him, they replied: "For blasphemy and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God" (John 10:31- The Lord Jesus repeated the fact that He and the Father are One in His long soliloquy with the Father in which He said to the Father about His disciples: "Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are" (John 17:11), and repeated the phrase: "that they may be one just as We are One" (John 17:22), that is, that they may be one Church, of one mind, just as We are one Divinity and one Nature. The Lord Jesus Christ also said: "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me" (John 14:10), and repeated this expression once more: "believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves" (John 14:11). The Lord means the works that reveal His Divinity such as the works of creating. He repeated the same relation in His soliloquy with the Father, saying: "You, Father, are in Me, and I in You" (John 17:21). The Father in Him means that the Godhead dwells in Him, that is, the unity of Divinity with Humanity is in Him. The best explanation of this point are the words of St. Paul the Apostle about the Lord Jesus Christ: "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col.2:8,9). The indwelling of the Godhead in Christ is the indwelling of the Person of the Father in Him, like the indwelling of light in the sun or the indwelling of heat in fire or the indwelling of thought in the mind, on condition that it is understood that both objects are one entity. The Lord Jesus Christ also said about His strong relation with the Father, in His soliloquy with Him: "And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine" (John 17: 10), and also in chapter 16, verse 15: "All things that the Father has are Mine." This declaration can never come from a human being because it means entire equality with God the Father. That was the reason for which the Jews wanted to stone Him, because He made Himself equal with God (John 5:18). St. Paul the Apostle says that Christ, "being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God" (Phil.2:6), which means that He acted as equal with the Father, not considering it robbery, because He is so. The Lord Jesus Christ also said that He does the works of the Father. He said to the Jews: "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him" (John 10:37,38); "Therefore they sought again to seize Him" (John 10:39). The fact that Christ does the works of the Father proves His Divinity. That was why the Jews wanted to kill Him. When Christ said: "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working" (John 5:17), the Jews considered His words a declaration that He is equal with the Father. That is why, immediately after this verse, it was said: "Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him" (John 5:18). The Lord explained this point in detail when He said: "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will" (John 5:21). (6) The Lord also said "That all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father" (John 5:23). No human being can dare say these words. The fact that Christ makes Himself equal in honour with the Father is proof of His Divinity. The Lord also said: "You believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1). The fact that people should believe in Christ as they believe in the Father indicates that He is equal with the Father, and thus is proof of His Divinity. The Lord said: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). He reproached Philip for saying: "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us" (John 14:8), by replying: "Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father, so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?" And the Lord said to His disciples: "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him" (John 14:7). Indeed we see the Father in the Person of His Son because He is the express image of the Person of the Father and the brightness of His glory (Heb. There is another relation of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Father which proves His Divinity, that is, His sitting down at the right hand of the Father on high. The Divine Inspiration recorded this truth in many situations, such as: The words of the Lord to the Sanhedrin during His trial: "Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven"(Matt. The words of St. Stephen at his martyrdom: "Look! see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" The words of St. Mark the Evangelist about the Ascension: "So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, he was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of The words of St. Paul the Apostle about the Lord Jesus Christ: " When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb.1:3). The words of St. Paul when he explained how Christ was greater than the angels: "But to which of the angels has He ever said..' Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool'? 1:13) St. Paul took these words from Psalm 110, verse 1, which says: "The Lord said to My Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool' ". What can be understood from Christ's sitting at the right hand of the Father? The Father has no right and has no left because He is Infinite and He fills all things. There is no vacuum at His right side for another to sit there. So what is the meaning of sitting at His right side? The word 'right' is a symbol of power and of righteousness and of majesty. This symbolism is similar to the Lord's expressions 'your right eye' and 'your right hand'in (Matt. The right hand of the Father means the power of the Father, the righteousness of the Father and the majesty of the Father. That is why it was once said that the Son sat at the right hand of the Power and at another that He sat at the right hand of the Majesty. The word 'sat' here means remained. This means that the Son who, in emptying Himself, appeared weak in front of you; was slapped on the face, scourged and crucified, by His ascension entered into His power and you will not see Him any more in weakness. And at His Second Coming, He will come on the clouds in His glory, surrounded by all the holy angels (Matt. 25:31)', because at His Second Coming He will come with power and great glory (Matt. Also, the Son who stood in front of you as a sinner and a criminal, and who stood before the Father carrying all the sins of the world, will sit at the right hand of His Father, that is, in His righteousness, and nobody can dare condemn Him any more. The expression "sitting at the right hand of the Power" means that the stage of emptying Himself has ended and that the Son entered into His glory. That is why it is said that at His Second Coming, He will come "in His own glory, and His Father's"(Luke 9:26), and it is also said: "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels" (Matt. This glory is the sitting at the right hand of the Father. THE THIRTEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being Beyond Time The Lord Jesus Christ said to the Jews: "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58). This means that He WAS and existed thousands of years before His birth in the flesh. The Jews understood that He was implying His Divinity. That is why they "took up stones to throw at Him" (John 8:59). Although Christ is a descendant of David genealogically, yet He said in the Book of Revelation: "I am the Root and the Offspring of David" (Rev.22:16). The term 'Offspring of David' is clear and understood because He is a descendant of David, but the term 'Root' means that He existed before David. One of the priests around the divine throne testified to this fact and said to John the Visionary: "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed" (Rev. 5:5). The Holy Book gives Christ existence before David, Judah and Abraham, for the LORD says to Him in the Psalm, 'from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth" (Ps. Christ WAS before the whole world existed, or rather, before all ages. In His soliloquy with the Father, He said to Him: "And now, 0 Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was"(John 17:5), and: "For You loved Me before the foundation of the world" (John 17:24). Therefore Christ WAS before the foundation of the world. In St. Paul the Apostle's discourse about Christ being "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15), he said: "All things were created through Him and for Him. And He IS before all things, and in Him all things consist" (Col. 1:16,17). Therefore Christ WAS before all things. Why? Because through Him all things were created. Of course, the fact that Christ created all things means that He WAS before all things. Thus St. John the Evangelist says: "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:3), and: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him" (John 1:10). Since the world was made through Him, therefore, He WAS before the world and before all things. In the prophecy of Micah the Prophet we read the most explicit words about Christ's existence before time. The prophet says: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting" (Mic.5:2). Here the prophet attributes to Christ eternity which is an attribute of God alone. What is the meaning of 'whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting'? It means that: Christ came forth from the Father from eternity, that is, He was begotten of the Father from eternity because He is the Son in the Holy Trinity. He is the Logos of God and God's Logos was in Him from eternity. He is the Wisdom of God and God's Wisdom was in Him from eternity. As long as eternity is attributed to God alone, then Christ is God because He is Eternal and He is beyond time. Christ's eternity is explicit in the Apostle's words: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb. And the Lord Jesus Christ says to His disciples: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. Daniel the Prophet says of this eternity: "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed" (Dan.7:14). THE FOURTEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the First and the Last This proof will involve three main points: (A) God alone is the First and the Last. There is no God before or after Him (B) Christ also is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega (C) Conclusion: Christ is God God Alone Is the First and the Last In eternity God WAS alone. He is the First and He is the Alpha. Then God created all creatures; all of them are the work of His hand. No one among men can say that He is the Alpha or the First because primeness is God's alone. That is why we find God attributing this quality to Himself, saying in the Book of Isaiah: "I am the First and I am the Last, besides Me there is no God" (Is.44:6); "I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last. Indeed my hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand has stretched out the Heavens" (Is 48:12,13), and: "I am he Before me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after me" (Is 43:10). The Lord Jesus Christ Is the First and the Last The Book of Revelation says: "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they also who pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end', says the Lord, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty'" (Rev 1:7,8). St John the Visionary said: "I, John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,' ' .. Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet" (Rev. 1:9-13). Who is this One like the Son of Man, but the Lord Jesus Christ who said: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last"? And John the Visionary emphasises this, saying: "And when I saw Him, {I fell at His feet as dead}. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Who is he, who lives and was dead except our Lord Jesus Christ who rose from the dead? (4) This meaning is repeated once more in the last Chapter of the Book of Revelation in which the Lord says: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last... I, Jesus,... Conclusion: Christ is God God says in the Book of Isaiah: "I am He. I am the First, I am also the Last" and repeats these words several times. The Lord Jesus Christ says in the Book of Revelation: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" and repeats these words several times. How can these verses fall in with each other, unless Christ is God? Let God be true. The Lord Jesus Christ said that He is the First and that He is the Alpha. This means that there is none before Him. This phrase cannot be interpreted other than that He is God Himself, otherwise God would not have been existing because there is none before the First and none before the Alpha. How can the saying of Christ that He is the First fall in with the saying of God: "I am He, before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me"? The only conformity is that the two sayings were said by the same Speaker. If Christ is the First then He was not created because there was none before Him to create Him. And if He was not created then He is Eternal and therefore He is God. Opposing Teachings After we had published the previous proof in the Sunday School magazine of July 1953, Jehovah's Witnesses, to disprove it, published two attempts in Watchtower magazine of November 1953: They claimed that He who will come is God the Father! This is in reply to Revelation chapter 1, verse 8. They claimed that what is written about Christ being the First and the Last is said regarding limited matters only, namely, His death and resurrection. We wrote a detailed rebuttal of the previous two points in the Sunday School magazine of January 1954, the summary of which follows: Undoubtedly, He who will come is the Lord Jesus Christ. He will come to judge and reward each one according to his deeds (see next proof). The last verse of the Book of Revelation says: "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"(Rev.22:20). And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself said to the high priest: "Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven", and said about the signs of the end of the age that "all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels" (Matt. If Jehovah's Witnesses say that He who will come is Jehovah and it is proved from the Holy Bible that He who will come is Christ, therefore they are presenting us with a new proof that Christ is God. In order to escape this awkward position Jehovah's Witnesses said in the same issue of Watchtower magazine: "Jehovah will come taking the form of Jesus Christ." Are they, by saying this, confessing that God was Incarnate and became Man? We refuted their claim that the expression 'the First and the Last' only refers to the Lord's death and resurrection, by saying: Regarding death, Christ was not the first nor was He the last of those who died. Millions died before and after Him. Regarding resurrection, although Christ is truly the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep who rose with a glorified body, yet He is not the last, because all people will rise from the dead, both the righteous and the wicked (John 5:28,29). THE FIFTEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being Omnipresent God Is the One Who Is Present Everywhere To be present everywhere is a quality which belongs to God alone. David the Prophet said to God: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there,. if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me" (Ps. There is no doubt that the Being who is present everywhere is Infinite. God alone is Infinite and consequently the quality of being everywhere belongs to Him alone because there is no Infinite Being besides Him. God is in heaven and at the same time He is on earth, because heaven is His throne and earth His footstool (Matt. His presence in places of worship is but a type of His general presence everywhere. Thus Solomon the Sage said at the consecration of the temple: "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!" No Being other than God can be present everywhere, otherwise he will be infinite and this quality belongs to God alone. If we prove that Christ is present everywhere, then we will have proved that He is God. The Lord Jesus Christ Is Present Everywhere Christ gives those who believe in Him a promise which none but God can give. He says to His believers: "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them"(Matt. This means that the Lord Jesus Christ is present everywhere on earth because the Church spread and reached the ends of the earth. Imagine a Sunday, for example, and all the Christians in the whole world gathering together in the name of Christ to pray in their churches, and Christ amidst each gathering. Does this not mean that He is present everywhere on earth? Whilst Christ is present everywhere on earth, He is also in heaven because He ascended to heaven, as the Apostles saw Him (Acts 1:9), and He is at the right hand of the Father, as St. Stephen saw Him (Acts 7:56). Christ is also in Paradise with those who departed this world. The proof of this are the Lord's words to the Penitent Thief: "Today, you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43), and the words of St. Paul the Apostle: "having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better" (Phil. This is an indication that those who depart this earth are with Christ in Paradise, whilst He is also with the Militant faithful on earth. Christ's discourse that He is in heaven and on earth and in Paradise is pursuant to His promise to the Church: "And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20) The Lord Jesus Christ declared this fact in his discourse with Nicodemus, when he said: "No one has ascended to heaven but he who came down from heaven that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:13). This means that Christ was in Heaven whilst He was on earth speaking with Nicodemus. The Lord Jesus Christ is not only on earth wherever two or three gather together in His name, but He is also in the heart of every faithful who loves Him. He says: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word,. and My Father will love Him, and We will come to Him and make Our home with him"(Jn. This means that every person who loves God is a house for Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ comes into his heart, and dwells with him wherever he stays and wherever he goes. That is why St. Paul the Apostle was able to say: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal.2:20). (7) Christ the Lord is not only present where the righteous and saintly are, but He is also in the places where the wicked have strayed. He is seeking for them, visiting them and knocking at the door of their hearts. Thus He says: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock . If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me"(Rev. 3:20). Conclusion: Christ Is God From what we have said it is proved that Christ the Lord is infinite and is present everywhere: in heaven and Paradise and at the same time on earth; in the places of worship, in the gatherings of the believers and in the hearts of those who love Him. He also knocks at the door of the hearts of the lost and of those who have strayed from His commandments. He moves with every person wherever they go and is with them when they settle. He is with the living and also with the departed. All these can only apply to one Being, that is, God. THE SIXTEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Judge We will prove that God alone is the Judge and that Christ is the Judge, thus proving that Christ is God. God Alone Is the Judge When our father Abraham interceded for the people of Sodom, he gave the Lord the title, "the Judge of all the earth" (Gen. Also, David said in his Psalms: "He shall judge the world" (Ps. 9:8), "He shall judge the peoples righteously" (Ps. 96: 10), "He shall judge the world with righteousness"(Ps. 98:9), "O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, 0 Judge of the earth" (Ps.94:1,2), and: "Let the heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is Judge"(Ps. And St. Paul says in his Epistle to the Romans: "For then how will God judge the world?" It is natural for God to judge the world because He examines the hearts and minds, reads the thoughts, and knows the deeds of everybody. Thus He judges with righteousness and uprightness. Christ Is the Judge St. Paul the Apostle says: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2Cor. The Lord says in the Gospel according to St. Matthew: "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works" (Matt. The Lord also says: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say..." (Matt. The Lord then explains the details of His judgment: the wicked will go to everlasting punishment and the righteous to eternal life. The Lord says about the end of the world: "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire" (Matt. St. Paul says to his disciple St. Timothy: "The Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom" (2 Tim.4:1). The Lord says in the Book of Revelation: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work" (Rev.22:12). One of the reasons for Christ the Lord acting as the Judge is because He knows the deeds of everyone. In His message to the angels of the seven churches in Asia. He says to each of them: "I know your works" (Rev.2:2,9,13,19); Also see the Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 7, verses 21 to 23. If Christ is the Judge then He is God because God is the Judge. Christ judges people's deeds because He knows their deeds and also because, "all the churches shall know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works" (Rev.2:23). Therefore He not only knows the works, but even more He searches the minds and hearts. This presents us with the following proof of His Divinity. EEE THE SEVENTEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Examiner of Hearts and Minds God Alone Is the Examiner of Hearts and Thoughts No one can examine the heart and read the thought and see the secrets of the soul except God alone, because this attribute is part of God's infinite knowledge and He alone is Infinite. The Holy Bible confirmed that this quality belongs to God alone: It is written: "Then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You, only You, know the hearts of all the sons of men)" (1 Kin. Solomon's proverbs are full of these testimonies. He says: "The Lord weighs the hearts" (Prov. Lord tests the hearts" (Prov. David the Prophet says in the Psalm: "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds" (Ps. 7:9), and "He knows the secrets of the heart" (Ps. In the Book of Jeremiah the Prophet, the Lord says: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. The Prophet Jeremiah says: "O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart" (Jer. The Prophet Amos says: "Who declares to man what his thought is, ...the LORD God of hosts is His name" (Amos St. Paul the Apostle says: "Even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts" (Thess.2:4). It is clear from these verses that God is the Examiner of hearts, who weighs them, tests them, and knows their secrets. He is the One who tells man what his thought is. He alone knows the hearts of all human beings. He alone is the Examiner of hearts and minds. Nevertheless we see that: The Lord Jesus Christ Examines the Heart and Knows the Thought Christ the Lord says, as we have already mentioned: "And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works" (Rev.2:23). There are many examples in the Gospels which denote that Christ the Lord reads the thoughts and answers them without hearing anything. For example: The Holy Gospel says that the disciples "reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have taken no bread. 'But when Jesus perceived it, He said to them, '0 you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?"' (Matt. When the Lord said to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you", the Gospel says that the Scribes reasoned in their hearts, saying: " 'This Man blasphemes!' But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier..."' (Matt. After the Lord Jesus Christ healed the demon possessed blind and mute man, the Gospel says: "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, 'This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.' But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation' " (Matt. In the miracle of Christ healing the man with the withered hand, the Gospel says: "And the Scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man... then said to them, 'I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil?' When the disciples were tempted by the thought of being great, the Gospel says: "A dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him' by In the incident of the sinful woman who washed the Lord's feet with her tears, the Lord replied to the thoughts of Simon the Pharisee. The Gospel says: "Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, 'This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him... " (Luke With regard to Christ knowing the unseen, we give as examples: The Lord's words to Peter about the hook and the stator (the exact temple tax for two) (Matt. The Lord's knowledge of Thomas's doubting and discourse with the other Apostles (John 20:27). The Lord's knowledge of the death of Lazarus (John The Lord's knowledge of what had happened to Nathanael under the fig tree (John 1:47-50). The Lord's knowledge of the past life of the Samaritan woman (John 4:18). Conclusion: Christ Is God Here we will leave aside Christ's knowledge of the unseen and talk only about His knowledge of man's thought. The Holy Bible says: "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds" (Ps.7:9), and the Lord Jesus Christ says: "And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts" (Rev.2:23). Is this not an explicit declaration that Christ is God? Let Christ be God and let God be true. The Holy Bible says distinctly about God: "For You, only You, know the hearts of all the sons of men" (I Kin.8:39), and it has been proved that Christ has read the thought and known the secrets of hearts and souls. Does the Holy Book contradict itself, or are Christ and God One, and thus Christ knows the hearts of men? Let Christ be God and let God be true. THE EIGHTEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being Good and Holy This proof contains three main points: No one is good but One, that is, God (Matt. Christ is good and holy Conclusion: Christ is God No One Is Good But God Alone The Book of Psalms says: "They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt, there is none who does good, no, not one" (Ps.14:3); (Ps.53:3). St. Paul the Apostle referred to this verse in his Epistle to the Romans, in Chapter 3, verse 12. St. John the Beloved testifies to this fact and says: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). That is why the saints confessed that they were sinful. St. Paul the Apostle, who ascended to the third heaven, said the "sinners of whom I am chief " (1Tim. 1:15), and: "For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin... For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells" (Rom. All human beings are sinful, whereas God alone is good, as the Lord Himself says: "No one is good but One, that is, God' (Matt. Also, the Holy Bible says that God is holy. The Seraphim cried to Him, saying: "Holy, Holy, Holy" (Is.6:3), and the Virgin Mary said: "For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His name" (Luke 1:49). Moreover, the Holy Bible confines holiness to God alone, according to the song in the Book of Revelation: "Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, 0 King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, 0 Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy"(Rev. 15:3,4). Christ Is Good and Holy The angel announced Christ's birth to the Virgin and said to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God"(Luke 1:35). After healing the lame man, St. Peter the Apostle reproached the Jews for rejecting Christ, saying: "But you have denied the holy One and the just and asked for a murderer to be granted to you" (Acts 3:14). St. Paul the Apostle said that Christ is "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" (Heb.7:26). The whole church prayed after the release of the Apostles Peter and John, saying: "Grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through Your holy Servant Jesus" (Acts 4:30). Also see the Book of Acts, Chapter 4, verse 27. Even the Lord Himself, in His message to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, says: "These things says He who is holy, He who is true, 'He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens' "(Rev.3:7). In the Lord Jesus Christ's holiness, He appeared to everyone to be separate from sinners and to be the Only Good One. That is why He said to the Jews, defying them: "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" (John 8:46), and said about the Devil: "The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me"(John 14:30). The Apostles testified to the Lord, saying that He "was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb.4:15); He "knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21); "in Him there was no sin" (1 John 3:5), and that He "committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth" (1 Pet. Even strangers and enemies testified to Christ with the same testimony. Judas who handed Him over, said: "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" (Matt. 27:4), and Pilate who sentenced Him to death, said: "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person" (Matt. 27:24), and Pilate's wife sent to her husband, saying: "Have nothing to do with that just Man"(Matt. Even the Devil witnessed to Christ, saying: "I know who You are - the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:24); (Luke 4:34). Even Jehovah's Witnesses testified to Christ in their magazine Watchtower (Arabic issue of June 1953, p.96), in their reply to a question about the words of Solomon the Sage: "One man among a thousand I have found, but a woman among all these I have not found" (Eccl.7:28). They said that the number 1,000 is a symbol of wholeness, and that a thousand men is a symbol of all men. And if there is no woman among all women who is good and without sin, there is only One found among men who is good, that is, Jesus Christ, the only One with this quality who lived on earth. Conclusion: Christ Is God If there is no one good but One, that is, God, and it has been proved that Christ is good or rather that He is the Only Good One, then Christ is God; He who is separate from sinners and has become higher than the heavens. If God alone is holy (Rev. 15:4) and it has been proved that Christ is holy, then Christ is God. Question: When the rich young man asked the Lord: "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?", why did the Lord reply: " Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God" (Matt. Answer: The Jews were accustomed to calling their teachers 'good teacher'. So the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to ask the young man: "Are you giving Me this title as a routine custom, as you would do for other teachers? If so, know that no one is good but One, that is, God. And do you believe that I am this God?" The Lord Jesus Christ did not say that He was not good but rather, on another occasion, He said: "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11), and He also said: "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" THE NINETEENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Forgiver of Sins God Is the One Who Forgives Sins David the Prophet says in the Psalm: "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, 0 my soul,... who forgives all your iniquities"(Ps.103:1), and also: "If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You"(Ps. It is written in the Book of Exodus: "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious... forgiving iniquities and transgression and sin" (Ex.34:6,7). The Lord Jesus Christ taught us to pray to God asking for the forgiveness of our sins, in the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:12), and asked us to forgive others in order to deserve God's forgiveness to us (Matt. (4) The Jews understood this fact and believed that no One could forgive sins except God alone. The Reason Why God Alone Is the Forgiver of Sins Forgiveness is an entitlement of God alone, because actually sin is committed against God. It is a breach of His commandments, a transgression of His law and a rebellion against His kingdom. It is also lack of love towards God, preferring evil to Him; it is ingratitude to Him. Sin is a rejection of God. This is clear from the words of the Lord: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me... They have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel" (Is. Even the sins which people commit against each other, before being sins against man, are foremost sins against God; against His commandments, against those whom He created. That is why David says in his Psalm of Repentance: "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight"(Ps.51:4). When Nathan faced him with his sin, he said: "I have sinned against the Lord. 'And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die' " (2Sam. Christ the Lord Forgave Sins He forgave the paralytic his sins and said to him clearly: "Your sins are forgiven you" (Matt. When some of the scribes reasoned in their hearts, saying: "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:7), the Lord said to them: "'Why do you think evil in your hearts? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins'- then He said to the paralytic, 'Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house' " (Matt. Christ the Lord forgave the sins of the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, and said to her: "Your sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48). Then those who were present grumbled and said to themselves: "Who is this who even forgives sins?" Christ the Lord forgave the sins of the thief who was crucified with Him and opened for him the gates of Paradise, despite his evil past, saying to him, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). Christ forgiving people their sins was not {trespassing} on God's prerogatives, because after He had said to the paralytic: "Your sins are forgiven you", He healed him and the man arose, carried his bed and walked. If Christ had overstepped His bounds in this miracle and trespassed on the rights of the Father, He would not have been able to heal the paralytic after granting him forgiveness. Conclusion: Christ Is God Although everyone believes that God alone forgives sins, yet Christ forgave the sins of the paralytic, the sinful woman, the Penitent Thief and others by mere order, and not through prayers in which He asked the absolution from God the Father as priests do. He forgave them by order, saying: "Your sins are forgiven you", and not by saying: "Go, the Lord forgives you." He also clearly said that He had authority on earth to forgive sins. When the Jews said that the forgiveness of sins belongs to God alone, He did not object that principle but rather kept that understanding and showed His authority to forgive. He then proved this authority by performing a miracle in front of them as if He were telling them: "I am This God Who alone has the authority to forgive sins." THE TWENTIETH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Accepting Worship and Prayer The Lord Jesus Christ accepted worship from people which was not a kneeling down as a sign of respect, but an actual worship which followed belief or a miracle. When He gave sight to the man born blind and called him to believe in Him as the Son of God, the man born blind said: "'Lord, I believe!' And he worshipped Him " (John 9:38). After He had walked on the sea and made His disciple Peter walk with Him, "those who were in the boat came and worshipped Him, saying, 'Truly You are the Son of God' "(Matt. 14:33), and He accepted this worship from them. After the miracle of catching a great number of fish, St. Peter worshipped the Lord Jesus, and said: "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord!" (Luke 5:8) The Lord accepted this worship and accepted the title 'Lord', then called Peter to be a fisher of men. The woman who suffered from a flow of blood worshipped the Lord Jesus after He healed her (Mark 5:33). Jairus worshipped Him, saying: "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live" (Mark 5:23). Thus it was worship preceded by faith in Christ that He is able to raise the dead by merely laying His hands on them. And Christ did raise his daughter for him (Mark 5:41,42). Christ was also worshipped by Mary Magdalene and the other Mary after His Resurrection (Matt. The eleven Apostles worshipped Christ when they saw Him after the Resurrection (Matt. Christ's Resurrection from the dead was one of the greatest miracles and its effect on the Apostles and the two women was that of worshipping Him. The wise men from the East worshipped Christ in His childhood (Matt. We add the words of St. Paul the Apostle that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. The Lord Jesus Christ accepted to be called "Lord, Lord" (Matt. (11) The Lord Jesus Christ says that prayer addressed to the Father will be heard if it is in His name. He said to His disciples: "Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:23,24). He also said: "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name I will do" (Jn. The phrase in My name I will do which He says here twice, means that He Himself hears the prayer. Christ Himself, here, is the One Who gives; that the Father may be glorified in the Son. It is unlike the previous verse whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. And this is a clear indication of His Divinity. THE TWENTY-FIRST PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the Giver of Life St. John the Evangelist says: "In Him was life" (John The Lord Jesus Christ gives life here on earth and in the eternal life, and this is one of the works of God alone. The Lord Jesus Christ gave life when He raised the dead. The Holy Bible mentions three miracles pertaining to this point: (Mark 5:22,35-42): The raising of Jairus's daughter. She was lying dead on her bed in the house, and her relatives were weeping and wailing. (Luke 7:11-17): The raising of the son of the widow of Nain. He was being carried in the coffin on the way to the tomb and around him were great crowds of the people of the city. (John 11): The raising of Lazarus four days after his death. He was buried in the tomb and his sister said that there was a stench. The important point in these three miracles is that they were performed by Christ's order, which denotes His Divinity and that He is the Giver of life. We will talk about this point in detail when we tackle the proof of Christ's Divinity with respect to His miracles. It suffices to comment on the Lord's miracles of raising the dead by quoting His words: "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will" (John 5:21). Here there is equality of the Son with the Father and in addition, He made the giving of life dependent on His will. Christ the Lord said of Himself that He "gives life to the world" (John 6:33) because He is "the bread of life" (John He said: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day"(John 6:35-58). This chapter presents Christ as the Giver of life through the Sacrament of Eucharist in which He offers His body and blood. The Lord will raise him who partakes of this Sacrament at the Last Day. Christ the Lord said of Himself that He is the Giver of eternal life. He said: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand" (John 10:27,28). Observe here the phrase "I give them". Christ the Lord also gives eternal life to whoever believes in Him. He says about Himself that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John Also, in the Lord's discourse with the Samaritan woman, He encouraged her to ask Him to give her living water, and said to her: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:10-14). We notice that He says twice "I shall give" because He is the Giver of this gift of life and of everlasting life. It has never happened that a man talked like this before, saying that He is the Giver of life and of everlasting life, that He gives life to whom ever He wills, that whoever follows Him lives forever and does not perish, and that no one can snatch His sheep out of His hand. All these acts are of God's authority alone. THE TWENTY-SECOND PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Authority over Nature The Lord Jesus Christ had authority over nature in every respect. He had authority over the sea, the wind and the waves and authority over plants and animals. He also had authority over light, earth, hills, closed doors and the laws of nature. He commanded and was obeyed as One in authority, implying His Divinity. We will now expound this in detail: His Authority Over Sea, Wind and Waves St. Mark the Evangelist says: "And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. " When the disciples were afraid, what did the Lord He "arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great The effect of this on those in the ship was that they said: "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!" (Mark 4:41) Indeed, who has authority over sea, wind and waves, commanding and rebuking them and they obey? Does this not remind us of the words of the Psalm: "O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty like You, 0 Lord? You rule the raging of the sea, when its waves rise, You still them"(Ps. St. John the Evangelist says about the Lord's authority over the sea: "And it was now dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid" (John 6:17-19). And St. Mark says about this miracle: "Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marvelled" (Mark 6:47-51). The Lord Jesus Christ did not only walk on the sea Himself, but also made St. Peter the Apostle walk with Him. And when St. Peter was afraid and began to sink, the Lord caught him. Peter said: "'Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. So He said, 'Come.' And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him. And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased" (Matt. Of course, all this was done by Christ's own authority, by His own might; the might of His Divinity. Where are the laws of physics here, which speak about the law of gravity? Are these laws not of His design as well, because "all things were made through Him" (John 1:3)? Where is the law of gravity in His ascension to heaven, which is recorded not only in the Book of Acts, Chapter one, verse 9, but also in St. John's Gospel, Chapter 3, verse 13? Another aspect of Christ's authority over nature is His coming in the midst of the disciples after His Resurrection when the doors were shut (John 20:19). And in the miracle of His Resurrection, He came out of the tomb whilst the tomb was sealed and a great stone was over its mouth. These miracles were performed by His authority and by the might of His Divinity. We should not forget what happened to nature at the time of the Lord's crucifixion: The earth quaked, the rocks were split and the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matt. And there was darkness over the whole land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour (Mark One of the aspects of Christ's authority over nature was that He cursed the fig tree and it immediately withered (Matt. 21:19), thus manifesting His authority over plants. His authority over animals was manifested in the two miracles of catching the great number of fish: When He called Peter to be a fisher of men (Luke 5:4-7), and at the Sea of Tiberias, after His Resurrection (John 21:5-11). His authority over nature also appears in His healing of diseases, especially the incurable ones, by His mere order, touch or will, like when He healed the lepers, the blind, the dumb, the deaf, the mute, the paralysed and the lame. We add to the above the miracles pertaining to Him such as His Birth of a virgin and the wonderful movement of a star to show His place of birth. All these denote that Christ has authority over nature in all its aspects: the sun, the stars, the rocks, the earth, the sea, the wind, the waves, plants and animals, human illnesses and closed doors. His authority over these was enforced by His mere order or will, and this cannot be done by a human being but it is a Divine authority. THE TWENTY-THIRD PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Authority over Angels In the first two Chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews, St. Paul the Apostle explains how Christ is greater than the angels (Heb.1:4) with indications proving His Divinity with respect to Him being the Son sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high. And it was said that God's throne is forever and ever, and that everything was put under His feet. It was said of Christ: "Let all the angels of God worship Him" (Heb.1:6), and that at His name "every knee should bow, of those in heaven... " (Phil. The angels can not bow down and worship except God alone. It was said in the Book of Revelation that the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before Him whilst singing: "You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals" (Rev. 5:9). It is written that after the temptation in the wilderness, "the angels ministered to Him" (Mark 1:13), and: "Angels came and ministered to Him" (Matt. About the submission of the angels to Christ, it is written: "Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him" (1 Pet. Who is the One ministered to by the angels, and to whom angels, authorities and powers are subject, but God alone? It was said on more than one occasion that the angels are Christ's angels and that He sends them: In St. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 13, verses 41 and 42, it is written: "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire." Who is the One who has authority to send angels on the Day of Judgment, but God alone? In St. Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 24, verses 30 and 31, it is written: "And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. " We observe here that the angels are His, the Kingdom is His and the elect are His, and this cannot apply to a human being or any created being whatsoever. The angels belong to God alone because the angels are the angels of God. The Psalm says: "Bless the Lord, you His angels" (Ps. 103:20), and also: "Who makes His angels spirits, His ministers a flame of fire" (Ps. shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands" (Ps. (Matt. The Lord Jesus Himself says: "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" (Rev. 3:5). God is the One who sends His angels, as the Prophet Daniel says: "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths" (Dan. How can the angels be God's and Christ's at the same time unless the Two are One? We have a good testimony at the end of the Book of Revelation: "And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place" (Rev. 22:6), and in the same chapter: "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things"(Rev. 22:16). Also compare with the first verse of the Book of Revelation. THE TWENTY-FOURTH PROOF Christ Is God Because the Kingdom Belongs to Him The kingdom is God's kingdom, and in the Lord's Prayer we pray to the Heavenly Father, saying: "Your kingdom come" (Matt. The Apostle says: "God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory" (1 Thess. The Lord Jesus Christ says: "My Father's kingdom" (Matt. (Matt. 13:43), and the term "kingdom of God" appears in various verses, among which are: St. Luke's Gospel, Chapter Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus Christ declares that the kingdom belongs to Him, saying: "Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matt. This is concerning the spread of His kingdom on earth. And concerning the end of this age, He says: "The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire" (Matt. Regarding the kingdom of heaven of Cnrist, the Apostle says: "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom" (2 Tim.4:1). About this heavenly kingdom, the Penitent Thief said: "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom" (Luke 23:43). Daniel the Prophet was most probably referring to the kingdom of heaven when he spoke about Christ, saying: "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed" These terms were only used for God, the God who lives forever, the Most High and steadfast God forever Therefore, the kingdom is God the Father's kingdom and Christ's kingdom. What, then, is the conclusion? Who, except God alone, can talk of His kingdom like this: A spiritual kingdom on earth, an everlasting kingdom in heaven, a kingdom which will not pass away, a kingdom which will not be destroyed, a kingdom in which the angels and the elect are His (Matt. THE TWENTY-FIFTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Authority over Life and Death We have talked previously about the Divinity of Christ with respect to Him being the Giver of life. The Lord talked about His relation with life, saying: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die"(John 1 1:25,26). He also said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). Who among men can say: "I am the life, the resurrection, and the truth"? Regarding the Lord's authority over death, the Apostle says that our Saviour Jesus Christ "has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light" (2 Tim. The Lord Himself testifies to His authority over death in the Book of Revelation, saying: "I have the keys of Hades and of death"(Rev 1:18), and: "If anyone keeps My word he shall never see death" (John 8:51). Who is the One who has authority over life and death, but God alone? For all human beings were under the penalty of death, as the Apostle said: "Sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Rom. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, is the One who abolished death. Authority over life and death is in the hand of God alone, who said in the Book of Deuteronomy: "I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive"(Deut. And it was said of Him in the First Book of Samuel the Prophet: "The Lord kills and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and brings up" (1 Sam.2:6). If this authority over life and death is in the hand of Christ, as He said: "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will" (John 5:21), then Christ is God. THE TWENTY-SIXTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Authority over the Law The Law is God's Law and the commandments are God's commandments. From the beginning, God gave the Law and handed it, written, to Moses the Prophet(Ex. But the Lord Jesus Christ laid down the Law of the New Testament for us in the Sermon on the Mount, in His words to His disciples: "A new commandment I give to you"(John 13:34), and in every spiritual teaching He left, of which it was said: "He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Matt. The Lord Jesus Christ had a standpoint regarding the Law of the Old Testament which was manifested in the strong and marvellous expression which He repeated several times in the Sermon on the Mount, saying: "You have heard that it was said to those of old.. But I say to you..." (Matt. No one has authority over God's Law except Him alone. We see that the Lord Jesus Christ had authority to legislate. Regarding the Sabbath: it is lawful to do good on it. Regarding the tithes: they are the least of the offerings and are to be observed with the commandment: "Give to him who asks you" (Matt. He also had authority to legislate monogamy, divorce (Matt. 5:32) and all the other laws in Christianity pertaining to perfection. The most powerful expression recorded about the authority of Christ over the Law is what He Himself said regarding the Law of the Sabbath: "The Son of man is also Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28) ; (Luke 6:5). If Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath, and the Sabbath is the Day of the Lord, then Christ is God. No man has ever dared speak about the Law in such a way, saying: "But I say to you". Moses and the prophets used the phrase "says the Lord". Christ the Lord could not have spoken with such authority, saying: "But I say to you", unless He is God. THE TWENTY-SEVENTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Authority over Himself No one has authority over himself and over his spirit because the Lord is "the God of all flesh", and He said: "Behold, all souls are Mine" (Ezek. St. Paul the Apostle said that Christ is the Father of spirits when he said: "Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?" Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus Christ says: "I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and have power to take it again" (John 10: 17,18). Who can dare claim this authority? The Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who said this statement because He is God. Christ's authority over Himself was manifested in the Resurrection when He rose by Himself and was not raised by another as those before Him were. He came out of the sealed tomb by Himself, without anyone seeing Him. EEE THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Authority over Demons The demons were afraid of the Lord Jesus Christ and cried out on seeing Him for fear of being destroyed or tormented. For example: The man at the synagogue of Capernaum who was possessed with an evil spirit. The spirit cried out, saying: "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are - the Holy One of God" (Mark 1:22-24); (Mark 3:11). The man who was called Legion because he had many demons, who was tied up with chains and chuckles because of his violence. When he saw the Lord, he fell down before Him and cried out with a loud voice, saying: "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" The two outrageous mad men who came out of the tombs in the country of Gergesenes so fierce that no one could pass that way. When they saw the Lord, they cried out, saying: "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" (Matt. And the Lord permitted the demons to leave the two men and go into a herd of swine. The Lord's order silenced the devils and drove them out. In Capernaum the Lord Jesus Christ rebuked an unclean spirit, saying: "Be quiet, and come out of him" (Mark 1:25), and with Legion He "commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man" (Luke 8:29). The Lord rebuked a dumb spirit, saying: "You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter him no more!" (Mark 9:25) In the case of the boy who was seized and convulsed by an unclean spirit, the Lord "rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father" (Luke 9:42,43). In all these cases, the evil spirits obeyed the command of the Lord Jesus Christ and came out immediately. This authority can never belong to a human being. Not only did the evil spirits come out by the Lord's command, but also in His name. When the disciples said to Him: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name"(Luke 10:17), it was because He had given them authority over every power of the adversary. This is the difference between the Lord and human beings in casting out demons: He cast them out by His authority whereas they cast them out by His authority and not by their order. Thus the Lord said about those who would believe in Him: "In My name they will cast out demons" (Mark 16:17). An example of this is the incident of the slave-girl who was possessed with a spirit of divination and who followed St. Paul. The Book of Acts says that St. Paul "turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And he came out that very We observe that casting out demons is mentioned under three different names for demons: either the plain word demons, or evil spirits, or mad persons, as is clear from the previous examples, and from the following verses: (Luke (Luke 10:17, 20) and (Matt. THE TWENTY-NINTH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to Him Being the One to Whom Glory and Power Belong The phrase: "To Him be glory and dominion forever" belongs to God alone. It is included in the Seraphim's praise to God in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 6, verse 3. However, the Holy Bible gives us the idea that the Lord Jesus Christ has this glory which befits Him as God: He sits in His glory, as the Judge of all peoples and nations. Christ the Lord says: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him" (Matt. Moreover, the Holy Bible mentions that the Lord Jesus Christ has the same glory with the Father. Christ says: "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works"(Matt. 16:27), and: " Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels"(Luke 9:26). How can the Lord Jesus Christ have the glory of the Father unless He is God Himself, because God is not rivaled by anyone in His glory, and He said: "I am the Lord, that is My name and My glory I will not give to another" (Is. The equality of the Son with the Father in glory is mentioned in the Book of Revelation with respect to the Son being "in the midst of the throne" (Rev. 7:17), and in the praise which the Visionary heard from every creature in heaven and on earth. He heard them saying: "Blessing and honour and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (Rev. 5: 13) The same glory and power due to the Father are due to the Son who is likened to a slain Lamb (Rev. 5:6). This equal glory is forever and ever and is undoubtedly proof of Christ's Divinity. The Lord Jesus Christ says about this glory: "I. sat down with My Father on His throne" (Rev. 3:21). He also says that He had this glory with the Father before the world was Our teacher St. Peter the Apostle says: "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen" (2 Pet. The term "our Lord" together with the term "to Him be glory" are clear proofs of Christ's Divinity. The Apostle also says: "That in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and ever. How splendid it will be if we compare the last two verses with the words of St. Jude the Apostle: "To God our Saviour, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen" (Jude 25). The glory attributed to the Father is the same glory attributed to the Son. THE THIRTIETH PROOF Christ Is God With Respect to His Miracles The reader is advised to read the two questions on the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ in Part Two of our book entitled People's Questions Over The Years. As an introduction to this proof, we state that the miracles of the Lord Jesus Christ are innumerable. It suffices to mention the concluding words of the Gospel according to St. John the Apostle: "And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. For example, St. Luke the Evangelist says: "Now when the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them" (Luke 4:40). The miracles performed here are collective and innumerable. St. Matthew the Evangelist says: "Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people" (Matt. Then the Apostle continues, saying: "And they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them" (Matt. Can we enumerate what is implied by the phrases "all kinds of sickness" and "all sick people"? Therefore, we will confine ourselves, in proving the Divinity of Christ, to the few miracles which are recorded in the Gospels. The miracles of Christ were of many different types. Among them were miracles of creation, of raising the dead, of walking on the sea and rebuking the wind and waves, ascension to heaven, descent from heaven, entry whilst doors were shut, His Virgin Birth, casting out demons, opening the eyes of the blind, healing chronic diseases such as leprosy, paralysis, lameness, dumbness, deafness, and illnesses that had continued for thirty-eight years and for eighteen years, which physicians had failed to cure. In brief, as St. Matthew the Evangelist said, "all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease", in "all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments." Who can heal all kinds of sickness and has authority over nature and demons with this mightiness and in such variety, except God, the Author of nature? The miracles of Christ were performed by His mere order or rebuke. In healing Simon's mother-in-law from her fever, He "rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them"(Luke 4:39) Here, the illness left by His mere rebuke. In healing the paralytic, Christ the Lord said to him: "Arise, take up your bed, and go your way to your house" (Mark 2:9). His mere order restored the man's health so that he rose up and even carried his bed. In healing the man who had a withered hand, the Lord said to him: "'Stretch out your hand . And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other hand" (Luke 6:10). The Lord performed the miracle with His mere order, healing a disease which medicine had failed to cure. The Lord Jesus Christ also used His command and rebuke in driving out unclean spirits, and they were cast out. That is why it was said: "For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him" (Mark 1:27). The Lord also used His command in silencing the waves and calming the sea. It is written that "He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a great calm (Mark 4:39). Commands to nature and to sickness and disease can not be given by a human being. It is a Divine power which, in most cases, made those who watched Christ confess His Divinity, as we have mentioned previously. Even in raising the dead, we see the element of command. In raising Jairus's daughter, the Lord said to her: " 'Talitha, cumi.' Immediately the girl arose and walked" (Mark 5:41,42). The Lord nullified death by His order, and restored life to the little girl by His order. Also, in the miracle of raising the son of the widow of Nain, it is written: "He said, 'Young man, I say to you, arise.' And he who was dead sat up and began to speak" (Luke 7:14, 15). And in the miracle of raising Lazarus, we read: "He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, comeforth!' And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes" (John 11:43,44). Sometimes the miracle was performed by mere touch or by laying His hand on the sick person. It is written: "He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them" (Luke 4:40). When the ear of Malchus, the high priest's servant, was cut off, "He touched his ear and healed him"(Luke 22:51). In healing the two blind men, He "touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight and they followed Him" (Matt. When the Lord put His hands on the blind man at Bethsaida, the man was able to see (Mark 8:25). And the woman who had a flow of blood and had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse, when she merely touched His garment, "immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed"(Mark 5:29). Miracles were performed by the Lord's mere will without Him giving a command. The leper implored Him, saying: " 'If You are willing, You can make me clean. 'And Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, 'I am willing; be cleansed' (Mark 1:40,41), "And immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matt. In the miracle of changing water into wine at Cana of Galilee, the Lord Jesus Christ created a new element by His mere will, without even giving a command. or by touch, but by His mere inner will (John 2:7-9). All Christ's miracles were performed without prayer. He performed them with His own power; with the power of His Divinity. The only miracle which was preceded by the Lord addressing the Father was the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. Probably the reason for this was that He wanted to hide His Divinity from Satan, because there were only a few days until the Cross. And also, if there was one miracle among His numerous miracles which was preceded by a prayer, it may be to teach us to pray, and it might have been a reply to the Lord's enemies who accused Him of using Belzebub's power in performing His miracles. Nevertheless, in raising Lazarus from the dead, the Lord also used His command, saying: "Lazarus, come forth!" In the miracle of feeding the thousands, it was said that He looked up, gave thanks and blessed the loaves (Mark 6:41); (Matt. Neither of the two miracles mentioned that He prayed. His looking up and blessing the food before eating may be to teach us. The miracles performed in the New Testament in Christ's name are numerous. In healing the lame man at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, Peter said to him: "Silver and gold, I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarus, rise up and walk" (Acts.3:6). This is also clear from the Lord's words: "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons" (Mark 16:17). This is the difference between the miracles of Christ and those of His disciples or saints: He performed the miracle with His own power where as the disciples' miracles were performed in His name or by the power they took from Him by His authority. So the power is Christ's. That is why the Apostle said: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"(Phil. The Lord gave this authority to His disciples: "He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease" (Matt. And He said to the twelve Apostles: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons" (Matt. And He also said to the seventy disciples: "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). (11) The Lord Jesus Christ offered His miracles as a leading cause to believe in Him. He said: "Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves" (John 14:11). And He said to the Jews: "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me, but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him" (John 10:37,38). Christ's words, "I do the works of My Father" mean that He does the very works of God Himself and this is a definite proof of His Divinity. That is why He reproached the Jews, saying: "If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin" (John 15:24). These works which no one else did are the Divine works of which He said: "I do the works of My Father" (John 10:37). In this way Christ proclaims that His miracles are proofs of His Divinity. The Lord Jesus Christ blessed those who believed in Him through His miracles and called for that belief. He blessed the belief of the centurion who said to Him: "But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed" (Matt. 8:8), while his servant was lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented. The Lord gave him a promise that his servant would be healed and the servant was healed that same hour. And the Lord Jesus said: "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" (Matt. Truly, the faith of the centurion was amazing. He believed that the Lord Jesus Christ's word was capable of healing his servant; without Him touching the servant or laying His hands on him to bless him, but that His mere command was sufficient. The Lord Jesus Christ praised that faith and confirmed it by healing the servant. Christ's miracles are proof of the truthfulness of His discourse about His Divinity. The Lord Jesus Christ performed extremely extraordinary miracles and at the same time said: "I and My Father are One" (John 10:30), "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), and: "The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" (Mark 2:10). He said that He was the only Son of God (John 3:16,18), and that He had ascended into heaven and had descended from heaven and that He was in heaven (John 3:13), and that He will come on the clouds of heaven and will send His angels to gather together His elect (Matt. If His words were untrue, He would not have been able to perform the miracles after saying them. If, by saying such words, He had unlawfully ascribed to Himself God's authority and attributes, He would not have been able to perform miracles after saying those words. We should not forget that the life of the Lord Jesus Christ was a unique miracle. He was born of a virgin (Is. 7:14), which is a unique occurrence in the history of the world; it had not happened before nor will it happen again. An unusual star appeared proclaiming His birth (Matt. He was worshipped by the Magi. In His childhood, He astounded the Jewish elders. The Lord Jesus Christ was a miracle in His baptism (Matt. 3), in His Transfiguration on the Mount of Tabor (Luke 9:2-8), in His rising from the dead and coming out of the tomb whilst the tomb was sealed and without anyone being aware of Him (Matt. 28), in His appearances to many persons after His Resurrection (Mark 16) and in His entry into the Apostles' room whilst the doors were shut (John The Lord Jesus Christ was a miracle in His Ascension into heaven and in His sitting at the right hand of the Father The whole life of the Lord Jesus Christ was a series of miracles, indicating His Divinity which was united with His Humanity throughout the period in which He appeared in the flesh, and also forever.