The Nazarean Fellowship for Christ Are We Monolatrians?
Steve Marlowe
Monotheistic religions believe that there is only one God, however, many Christians understand this in terms of only one divine essence, which Jews and Muslims do not. The identity of this God differs from religion to religion, but fundamental agreement exists that there is only one God, no matter who “He” happens to be. The Bible is clear, that “He” is Christ.
The ancient Israelites were of Monolatry and not strict Monotheists. Monolatrism or monolatry (Gr. monos, single, and Gr. latreia), worship is defined as "the recognition of the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity" (Frank E. Eakin, Jr., The Religion and Culture of Israel, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1971, p. 70). In contrast to monotheism, monolatry accepts the existence of other gods, and in comparison to Henotheism, it regards only one God as worthy of worship. The apostle Paul was a Monolatrian. He writes, on the subject of food being offered to idols and on the truth of godlike ones in Heaven, “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in Heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord YAHSHUA the Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge…” (1 Corinthians 8:5-7).
Christian monotheism is very different from other monotheistic faiths such as Judaism and Islam, even though Christianity agrees that there is only one God. Other monotheistic faiths teach that only one divine God is indivisible, and therefore without Persons. Historical, Orthodox Christian, Catholic, and Protestant, monotheism says that the one God of divine essence belongs equally to three distinct divine Persons. God is not merely God or Allah, but God is the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, and yet not three Gods (Elohim), one God (EL, Eloah).
In other words, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are all fully and equally divine, possessing identical divine attributes. Being fully equal, none is more or less God than the other. And Christians maintain that this is our confession supposedly based on much biblical evidence. Really?
First, some theologians have noted the Old Testament use of Elohim, one of the Hebrew terms, EL, Eloah, translated into English as “God.” Although Elohim (Gods) is plural, it is often used as a singular when translated into other languages namely “God.” Elohim is a plural in form, therefore, it is not singular. So, some have seen in the word itself a hint of plurality in God. It should be noted that the mere word itself does not necessitate a reference to divine singularity, and it would be considered insufficient to give us a God who is both one and many. Its use of Elohim, however, is not congruent with the doctrine of the Trinity. For the following reason, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, and yet not three Gods (Elohim), one God (EL, or Eloah). The word Elohim is excluded based upon the very clearly defined Trinitarian Formula. In other words, Elohim does not fit into the Trinitarian idea and does not prove that there is a Trinity. It is one God (Eloah), not three Gods (Elohim).
Psalm 110, “The Lord said to my lord,” which makes a distinction between the “LORD” (YHWH, this represents the name of God, replaced with Adonai, Lord) and the “lord” (Adoni, a lesser lord), and therefore does not point us in the direction of Trinitarianism. Is there an allusion to two divine persons, which Christ brings out in His use of the text to show His opponents that He is far more than a mere human son of David? We read, “While the Pharisees were gathered together, YAHSHUA (the Christ) asked them, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to 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” ’?
If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore (Matt. 22:41–46).
Although Trinitarians say there are implications for God’s Trinitarian existence in the Old Testament, we do not get any revelation of the Trinity until allegedly the New Testament. From the apostle John, we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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 bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ And of His fullness, we have all received and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through YAHSHUA the Christ. 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 1:1-18). Christ is our God, as all things were given to Him by His God and Father (John 3:35). The Father and God of our Lord and Savior has nothing to do with sin, and when all our sins were upon Christ at the Cross, then, “And about the ninth hour YAHSHUA cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When the Father and God of our Lord and Savior, YAHSHUA, gave all things to Him, it is evident that the Son became our only God until all things have been restored. This is illustrated in the New Testament, and we read, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ, all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the first fruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the Kingdom to God the Father when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).
Christians claim that there are also texts wherein the three Persons are so closely associated as to imply, that is by implication, that all three are equal and fully divine, for example, we read, “The grace of the Lord YAHSHUA the Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14). Clearly, from this people think the Bible assumes and teaches that God is triune, and yet every scholar knows that the Bible does not teach the Trinity. Listen to one eminent scholar, “My conclusion, then, about the Doctrine of the Trinity is that it is an artificial construct… It produces confusion rather than clarification…” (Cyril Richardson, The Doctrine of the Trinity, 1958, p. 148). And yet, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Artificial construct is of men, and not of God. Martin Luther put it this way, “It is indeed true that the name ‘Trinity’ is nowhere to be found in Holy Scripture, but has been conceived and invented by man” (The Sermons of Martin Luther, Vol. 3, 1988, p. 406). Historians know this, “There is no evidence that the apostles of Jesus ever heard of the Trinity–at any rate from Him” (H.G. Wells, The Outline of History, Vol. 2, 1920, p. 499).
Proof that the God of the Bible is none other than Christ, we read Isaiah 44:6-8, “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. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.’”
Who is the Rock?
“Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).
Christ has the name (YAH) which is above every name. As testified by the apostle Paul, who wrote, “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of YAHSHUA, 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 YAHSHUA the Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
What is the essential name given for our salvation?
“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid;
‘For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation’” (Isaiah 12:2 NKJV).
Therefore, the name: “YAH” is “the name which is above every name.” YAH means “I AM.” YAH is the essential name for our salvation.
Shua means “my help,” as in my “salvation.” YAHSHUA, Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Christ told the people that He is their God, when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58). He told them, He is YAH. “I AM” is YAH.
The essence of the Gospel is, “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 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 3:16-18). To reject the name YAHSHUA is to be condemned already. What have we done to the revealed name of our Savior? The name has been subjected to transliteration and transformations causing the revealed name from Heaven to a different name, or names: Jesus, Iesus, Iesous, Isa, Hey-zeus (Sp.), and the misapplication of the name Yeshua, for our Savior, which is devoid of “the name which is above every name,” that is YAH! We do not have the right to give God a name, which is why it is incumbent upon us to ask God for His name. The name Jesus has no etymological meaning regarding salvation. Why did we put the revealed name given for our salvation through linguistic evolution causing an entirely different name? The Bible places clear importance on the revealed name given by God, yet we are very Shakespearean and cavalier in our fleshly mind with the sentiment that “A rose by any other name still smells as sweet.” As if to say, “It doesn’t matter, and God knows who I mean.” But the New Testament makes this clear, “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 3:18).
If we do not know something about God, we must ask Him. This is exactly what Moses did. “Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “HaYAH Ashar HaYAH” [“I AM WHO I AM.”] And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM [YAH] has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord {YaHaVaH} God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations” (Exodus 3:13-15). This established for all time the one “name which is above every name,” the very name of YAH [I AM]. Christians praise this name all the time without realizing it. Halleluyah means Praise YAH! Many say this expression means “Praise God,” and many say, “I don’t know.” The name YAH is obscured for most Christians adhering to misnomers, however slight, we are given, such false expressions as Alleluia or Hallelujah. We praise YAH, not jah, or ia. It is rightly, Halleluyah, not Hallelujah or Alleluia. HaYAH is correct, The word ehyeh is an imperfect form of hayah, 'to be'.
One may object, and say, “God has many names.” (EL Olam, “God Eternal”), (EL Roi, “God sees”), (Elyon, “God Most High”), (Adonai, “Lord”), (Emmanuel, “God with us”).
But, what does God reveal to us? “And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord.[a] I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as EL Shaddai [God Almighty], but by My name YAHAVAH I was not known to them” (Exodus 6:2-3). There is one name for God, and there are descriptive names for God, but again only one revealed personal name for God. Descriptive names: (EL Olam, “God Eternal”), (EL Roi, “God sees”), (Elyon, “God Most High”), (Adonai, “Lord”), (Emmanuel, “God with us”). Vs. Personal name YAHAVAH, also YAHSHUA. [a] LORD is YHWH or YHVH
Eminent historian Ernest Renan acknowledged that Christ was never in His lifetime known as Jesus (Ernest Renan, The Life of Jesus, p. 90). From history we know that Christ was not known as Jesus, Iesus, or Iesous, therefore, the question must be asked, what name did the apostle Peter testify to to the Sanhedrin?
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deeddoneto a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name ofYAHSHUAthe Messiah of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:8-12). Because it was the Jewish custom to hide the name of God, and since they heard Peter testify to the name YAHSHUA, which has the name YAH, God’s very essential name, theyBut so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” By the inspiration of God and by the pen, as written in the Bible, God reveals His truth to mankind. A note to mankind, Quit trying to steal the Pen! Halleluyah, Praise YAH, Praise YAHSHUA!
