(392) – JESUS AND JEHOVAH

There are three theological currents. One of them claims that Jesus and Jehovah are the same person. Another claims that Jehovah is the father, and Jesus is the son. Yet another claims that Jehovah is a strange being who has elected himself, testifies of himself, suffers uncontrollable attacks of fury that are only appeased with blood: an odious and vindictive being, designer of evils and plagues that are incompatible with the Father revealed by Jesus, full of love, grace, forgiveness, who does not condemn anyone. If Jesus and Jehovah are the same person, their works in both the New and Old Testaments cannot be conflicting. If Jehovah were the father, and Jesus were the son, they could not have different plans for men, for Jesus declares that he and the Father are one (John 10:30). Let us observe them to see if there are spiritual affinities between the actions of Jehovah and Jesus:

  1. Jehovah is the god of the rich: “Jehovah’s blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it” (Prov. 10:22). David declares that riches come from Jehovah (1 Chr. 29:12; 1 Kings 3:13; 1 Chr. 29:26-28). The God whom Jesus revealed as Father chose the poor to be heirs of the celestial kingdom (James 2:5). And Jesus advises not to gather treasures on earth (Matt. 6:19-20). Jesus told a rich man who wanted to follow him to sell everything he had, first, and then follow him (Matt. 19:16-21). Excluding the gifts of Jehovah, Jesus excludes Jehovah.
  2. Jehovah commands the swearing: “You shall fear Jehovah your God; and you shall serve him, and shall swear by his name” (Deut. 6:13). And Jehovah prophesies that in the future every knee shall bow, and affirms: “to me every … tongue shall take an oath” (Is. 45:23). Jehovah declares that in the new heavens and the new earth he is going to create men will swear by the true god (Is, 65:16-27). Jesus, on the contrary, declared: “Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one” (Matt. 5:33-37). Excluding the swearing, Jesus excluded Jehovah from the plan of the Father.
  3. Jehovah killed little innocent children. In a moment of unrestrained fury against his people, Jehovah declared that he was going to wipe them out with mortal darts, and that they would be destroyed by carbuncles and by bitter pestilence, devoured by wild animals, bitten by poisonous serpents, and also killed by the sword: young men, maidens, old men, and suckling children would die (Deut. 32:22-25). And Jesus proclaimed out loud: “They were bringing to him little children, that he should touch them, but the disciples rebuked those who were bringing them. But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, ‘Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” (Mark 10:13-14). When he saved the ones that Jehovah killed, Jesus excluded Jehovah.
  4. When he delivered the people of Israel from the Egyptian slavery, Jehovah took them to Mount Sinai and said to them: “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). And he declared to his people: “I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Is. 43:15). Jesus, on the contrary, declared to Pilates: “My Kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). The declarations of Jehovah are compounded by the fact that John registered in his gospel the words of Jesus, saying: “He who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). Therefore, Jesus excluded Jehovah, who founded the kingdom of the dead. When a Jew, member of the bankrupt kingdom of Jehovah, at the time when he believed in Christ, asked permission to go bury his dead father, Jesus told him: “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead” (Matt. 8:21-22).
  5. At the time when the Law was given at Sinai, the law of vengeance was established, which says: “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise” (Ex. 21:24-25). When Jesus established the law of forgiveness, he excluded Jehovah. The law of Jesus is: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:14-15). Jesus is excluding the law of the eye for eye through the law of forgiveness; therefore he excluded Jehovah.
  6. Jehovah sold his people because of their sins against the law. When they took possession of the Promised Land, as Jehovah did not fulfill his promise to cast out the perverted people from the land, the people of Israel mingled with the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, Perizzites and Jebusites by taking their women for their children and giving their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled, and he sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. Israel was sold seven times, in just the period of the book of Judges (Judges 2:1-8, 12-14; 4:1-3; 6:1; 10:6-8; 13:1). The psalmist declares that Jehovah sold his people for a small price (Ps. 44:12). And Jesus bought them with his blood, the very ones whom Jehovah had sold; therefore, the cancelled the work of Jehovah (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
  7. Moses asked Jehovah, saying: “Please show me your glory.” Jehovah answered: “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live” (Ex. 33:18,20). And Jesus declared: “This is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). Those who see Jehovah, die; and those who see Jesus, live. Jesus was always excluding Jehovah.
  8. There were good and bad in the kingdom of Jehovah, clean and unclean, righteous and unrighteous. Jehovah sent rain over the good and the righteous, and withheld from unrighteous and bad (Amos 4:7-8). And the Father of Jesus sent rain over righteous and unrighteous, clean and unclean (Matt. 5:45). Therefore Jehovah loved less than the Father. With this declaration Jesus left Jehovah out.
  9. Jehovah is considered as God, and founded his kingdom in this world (Ex. 19:6). Jesus, however, declared: “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it” (Luke 16:16). In another occasion Jesus said: “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come to you” (Matt. 12:28). Jesus declared by this that the kingdom of Jehovah is not the kingdom of God; therefore he leaves out Jehovah.
  10. Jehovah made himself known to the men in the Old Testament, according to the prophet Ezekiel: “And say to them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up my hand to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known to them in the land of Egypt” (Ezek. 20:5). If Jehovah declares that he revealed himself, no one can say the contrary. When the people ignored that, Jehovah insisted in make himself known.  “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is JEHOVAH” (Jer. 16:21). He said this to his people. And, if even the strangers knew him, how much more Israel! Here is what Jehovah declared: “I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me” (Ps. 87:4). Let us consider now the declaration of Jesus: “All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him” (Matt. 11:27). When Jesus declares NO ONE, he means no one. Neither men nor angels. No one has ever known him before Christ. Neither Israel, nor Rahab, nor Babylon. John said: “No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him” (John 1:18).

By these declarations Jesus excluded Jehovah, who made himself known through plagues, pestilences, curses, wars, captivities, vengeances and deaths. Jesus, however, revealed the true god, the God and Father, loving and savior of all (1 Tim. 4:10). He is this Father whom we know, worship, serve and glorify.

By Olavo Silveira Pereira

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