Why God Needs TRUTHFUL WITNESSES!
***What Does Numbers 23:19 TRULY mean?
Here is Numbers 23:19 from the KJV. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
Notice that Yahweh says through His prophet Balaam that God is NOT a MAN and NEITHER is God the Son of MAN.
Has not Yahweh SPOKEN? Shall Yahweh not do that which He prophesied? Has Yahweh prophesied and shall not perform His spoken word?
A prophet is a MEDIATOR. And Balaam is mediating BETWEEN God and Balak, which means WASTER!
And Satan is called or described as the WASTER in the Bible!
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To read the STUDY and the context, please scroll down
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Did Almighty God BECOME the Son of MAN?
Let us begin this VITALLY important Verse Study by reading Number 23:19 out of its context first.
And then I will ask two questions before we go through a Trinitarian apologetics article to see if the verse references that they give prove what they claim they support.
The emphasis is mine.
Numbers 23:19.
“God is NOT a MAN, that He should lie; NEITHER the Son of MAN, that He should repent: has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?”
Question #1.
Does Numbers 23:19 mean exactly what it plainly STATES as a fact?
Question #2.
Does Numbers 23:19 mean what the following Triniatrian article says that it means?
Now, if Numbers 23:19 does indeed mean exactly what it plainly STATES as a fact, and Christians choose to believe and CONFESS as their FAITH that God BECAME a MAN, then they will not be found by God as faithful and TRUTHFUL WITNESSES.
For you see, by confessing that God BECAME a MAN when the Bible ITSELF says that God is NOT a MAN would make those Christians FALSE WITNESSES.
And if Numbers 23:19 does indeed mean what the following Trinitarian article CLAIMS, then the Christians who confess the God did NOT BECOME a MAN would be FALSE WITNESSES.
So then, each group of Christians has a 50 / 50 chance of being a FALSE WITNESS.
And thus, God will not be able to use them and His faithful and TRUTHFUL WITNESSES to judge Satan and the fallen angels on the final Day of Judgment.
Therefore, this Verse Study on Numbers 23:19 is VITALLY important to get CORRECT, because whoever gets the WRONG understanding will actually be a witness on the side of Satan.
Let me explain what I mean by giving a hypothetical scenario.
Suppose Satan accuses God for cheating saying that God BECAME flesh and calls God a LIAR for saying that He raised up a Savior from among the PEOPLE.
And then, Satan argues his case saying that he has all of these Trinitarian Christians as his WITNESSES saying the God the Son, the second person of a Godhead Trinity God BECAME FLESH.
And Satan also says, and I have all of these Oneness Pentecostal Christians as my WITNESSES as well, for they say that You Yourself BECAME FLESH.
Please read the study called D-32 WHY Does God Need Faithful and TRUTHFUL WITNESSES?
My point is that Numbers 23:19 is so SPECIFIC that I do not see how it can mean anything other than what it PLAINLY STATES!
And to PROVE my point, I will go through this entire Trinitarian article to show my readers WHY the verse references that they give do NOT support what the CLAIM in this article.
Here is the title and link to that Triniatrian article that TRIES to explain AWAY Numbers 23:19 by arguing that it does not prove that God did not become a man.
I will separate the article in smaller portions so that I can give my comments after each paragraph.
The emphasis is also mine.
“Some claim that the Old Testament proves that Jesus cannot be God because of Numbers 23:19a, which says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent” (KJV).”
Notice that they only quote the first part of Numbers 23:19. This can be done to save space to make the study shorter.
But sometimes it is done because the rest of the verse does not agree with the argument they are making.
And that is called taking a verse OUT of its CONTEXT.
Now, just to be clear, I believe and teach that Jesus is indeed DEITY.
However, the Bible ITSELF clearly teaches that the HUMAN Son of God BECAME Deity after the cross and resurrection.
Please read the three-part study called The Deity of Jesus According to the Bible ITSELF!
But for now, let us continue examining this Trinitarian article.
“The reasoning is that, if God is not a man, then the Christian claim that Jesus, a man, is God is false.
Just as troublesome is the fact that Jesus repeatedly calls Himself the “Son of Man” in the gospels (e.g., Mark 14:21).”
Now, WHY would Jesus repeatedly calling himself the Son of man be TROUBLESOME?
For you see, it is FOR that very REASON that Jesus is the Son of MAN that his God and Father GAVE him eternal life to be having in himself even as the Father has always had life in Himself.
Please read John 5:26,27 so that you can see WHY God committed all judgment into the hands of the Son.
John 5:26,27.
“For as the Father has life in himself; so has He GIVEN to the Son to have life in himself;
John 5:27. And has GIVEN him authority to execute judgment ALSO, BECAUSE he is the Son of MAN.”
Let us continue with the Trinitarian article. Again, the emphasis is mine.
“The Old Testament does indeed teach that God is not a human being, not only in Numbers 23:19 but also in 1 Samuel 15:29 and Hosea 11:9.
However, the New Testament shows us that Jesus made claims to be God—and at the same time He calls Himself the “Son of Man,” a title that proclaims His humanity. With all this being true, how can we prove that Jesus is God?”
First of all, Jesus NEVER made any claim whatsoever that he is Almighty God Himself.
Therefore, the New Testament does NOT have a single verse where Jesus says that he is God.
Rather, verses like John 8:24 and John 8:58 must be INTERPRETED to mean that Jesus saying the words, “I am” and “I am he” that Jesus is CLAIMING to be Almighty God Himself in the flesh.
“Jesus claimed to be both the Son of God and the Son of Man. There are no tricks here. He said that He is God, and He said that He is (at the same time) human.”
Notice that he says “There are no tricks here.”, which in fact is tricking some Christians to wrongly believe a Trinitarian LIE.
Where in that paragraph does it give you a verse reference where Jesus SPECIFICALLY says that he is God.
Do a search on the phrase “I am God” in the New Testament and you will find ZERO verses where anyone said that they are God in the New Testament.
Do a search on the phrase “he is God” and you will find ONE verse where the antichrist will claim that he is God Himself.
Do a search on the phrase “Jesus is God” and zero verses are found.
So a search on the phrase “the Son is God” and again, zero verses are found.
The ONLY time that the Son is called God by “TITLE” is in Hebrews 1:8,9, which is AFTER the cross and resurrection and the Father ANOINTS the Son above his FELLOWS.
And the fellows of Jesus are speaking of us, his BRETHREN and JOINT-HEIRS with Jesus.
My point is that some Trinitarian Christians believe that by Jesus simply by saying he is the Son of God, then to THEM, that proves Jesus is saying that he is Almighty God Himself.
But in John 8:41 the Jews said that they are sons of God by saying that they have one Father, even God.
And we as Christians say that we are sons of God, but that does not make us to be Almighty God Himself.
No one had ever said such a thing before. It was strange then, and it is strange now—strange enough for a new term, the hypostatic union.
This term “hypostatic union” basically means Jesus had two natures at the SAME time during the days of his flesh.
But the Bible ITSELF teaches us that the Son of MAN, which is ONE nature, was GIVEN the same LIFE as his God and Father AFTER the cross and resurrection.
And in 2 Peter 1:4, we are given the SAME promise to be made partakers of the DIVINE NATURE at the coming of Jesus.
And thus, Jesus only has ONE nature at a TIME. His first nature was HUMAN and his GLORIFIED nature is DIVINE.
Please read 2 Corinthians 5:15,16.
“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
2 Corinthians 5:16. Wherefore, HENCEFORTH know we no man AFTER the FLESH: yea, though we have known Christ after the FLESH, yet NOW HENCEFORTH know we him no more.”
In other words, DURING the days of his FLESH the Apostles of Jesus knew him as the HUMAN Son of God, but NOW, after the cross and resurrection, they know Jesus as the ETERNAL Son of MAN who shall never die again.
The Apostles of Jesus said in Hebrews 2:9.
“But we see Jesus, who was MADE a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, CROWNED with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”
Let us continue with the Trinitarian article.
“No one will ever fully understand the union of Christ’s divine and human natures, no matter how much we talk about it, define it, or typify it. Therefore, “proof” cannot be obtained. We either believe Jesus, or we do not.”
And what did Jesus PLAINLY say in Luke 24:26 with no interpretation needed?
Luke 24:25-27.
“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
Luke 24:26, Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to ENTER INTO into his glory? (Which is the SAME GLORY that Jesus promises to give to us who overcome, according to John 17:22)
Luke 24:27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
It is EASY and SIMPLE to understand that the Son of MAN was GIVEN eternal life that was promised by God to be given to him as part of the joy that God set before him to ENDURE the cross, according to Hebrews 12:2.
For you see, we BELIEVE in the promise given to us that we will RECEIVE eternal life in the world to come.
So yes, I do indeed believe the words of Jesus that are not TWISTED to mean something that they are not TRULY saying.
Let us continue with the Trinitarian article.
“It is critical to understand at this point that the Bible is true in detail and in toto—both the Old and New Testaments.”
I absolutely AGREE. The Old Testament is filled with the PROPHECIES that were fulfilled by Jesus and will be yet fulfilled in the world to come.
“So, when Jesus began teaching new things, the old things did not become untrue; they became unveiled. Remember what He said about the Law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).”
Again, I agree that Jesus is the FULFILLMENT of PROPHECY.
“All of Jesus’ new revelations work exactly the same way. The old knowledge was shadowy, and, as the Light of the world, Jesus dispelled the shadows (see Colossians 2:16–17).”
Again, I agree that there are many FIGURES, shadows and types that are pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament.
And none of those figures, shadows, and types are NOT LITERALLY the Son of God, but rather, the picture of the yet coming Messiah, which we now know is Jesus.
“This process is not destructive of the old knowledge—it is instructive, as Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian shows (Acts 8:30–35).”
Again, no disagreement. The prophecies clearly speak of Jesus as the one prophesied to come as the whole city proclaimed in Matthew 21:9-11 saying, this is the Son of David, the PROPHET of Nazareth of Galilee.
“And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
Matthew 21:10. And when he came into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
Matthew 21:11. And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”
“We must also consider what the Old Testament is really saying about God when it says He is not a human being.
The point being made in Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, and Hosea 11:9 is that God does not lie. He is not fickle. His emotions do not change His eternal purposes.
This is unlike fallen humanity, who cannot see the big picture, who often breaks promises, and whose feelings often cloud discernment.
In other words, the statements that God is not a man are contrasting one aspect of God’s nature with a corresponding part of man’s. Saying, “God is not a man,” has nothing to do with whether or not God can ever exist in the flesh.”
Now, if you remember, this Trinitarian writer openly admitted at the beginning of this article that the Old Testament does INDEED teach that God is NOT a HUMAN BEING.
Here is that quote again.
“The Old Testament does indeed teach that God is not a human being, not only in Numbers 23:19 but also in 1 Samuel 15:29 and Hosea 11:9.”
But now he argues that what Numbers 23:19 ACTUALLY means is a contrast of God’s nature COMPARED to the nature of fallen man.
Thus, he concludes that Numbers 23:19 does not mean that God can NEVER exist in the flesh.
Now, Biblical Unitarian Christians do indeed believe and teach that God can and does EXIST in OUR FLESH and also dwelt in the flesh of Jesus, according to 2 Corinthians 5:15-21.
Let us continue with the Trinitarian article. The emphasis is mine.
“The Old Testament references to God being unlike man do not apply to Jesus’ particular type of humanity. All they are telling us is that God is not a man as we think of men. It’s a contrast, not a restriction.
There is nothing that logically prevents God from becoming a man in a whole new way—in fact, redemption requires this, and redemption was God’s plan from before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).”
Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29, and Hosea 11:9 PREVENT God from becoming a MAN.
Otherwise, God would be a LIAR if He BECAME a MAN.
For you see, the REST of Numbers 23:19 says that God will do what He said He will do.
And there is not ONE PROPHECY that says God Himself will come down from heaven and become FLESH.
And there is not ONE PROPHECY of a God the Son or the Son of God coming down from heaven to BECOME FLESH.
Plus, Hosea 11:9 is a PROPHECY of Jesus, the Holy One, who will execute the wrath of God, and Yahweh is SPECIFICALLY saying that He is NOT that MAN, the Holy One in the midst of the people.
“Thus, it can be said that God knew He would become a man before Numbers 23:19 was even penned!”
Only if one TWIST the Scriptures to mean something that they are NOT truly saying!
“If we consider the Old Testament in isolation (which is the Jewish perspective), we shall not likely “prove” that Jesus Christ was man, God, Messiah, and Savior—although the indicators are all there (see Isaiah 53, for example).”
Isaiah chapter 53 clearly teaches that Jesus Christ is a MAN and that he is the Messiah, But I see nothing in that chapter that even hints at Jesus being Almighty God Himself.
“Christians see the foreshadowing of the God-man in the Old Testament because the New Testament revelation helps interpret the Old Testament references (e.g., Matthew 2:15; cf. Hosea 11:1).
Only Christians blinded by Roman Catholic Church TRADITION that invented the man-made doctrine of the Trinity can see a so-called God / man in the Old Testament.
“This brings up an important fact regarding biblical interpretation: God reveals His truth progressively, over time. He has unfolded His purposes sequentially and as needed over the millennia.
For example, Adam and Eve in their innocence had no need to know about redemption, but after they sinned, then the time was appropriate, and God laid it out for them in Genesis 3:15.
That bit of revelation was given at a point in time, but its full meaning did not become clear until after Christ came in the flesh—and as the authors of the New Testament were writing under inspiration.
We understand now that Genesis 3:15 points directly to Jesus’ atoning death—and this revelation is necessary for us today.
But that information was not necessary for Adam and Eve. Their pre-fall ignorance, couched as it was in innocence, was appropriate for them.
In like manner God revealed His will progressively to His people in the Old Testament Scriptures, and those people were responsible to behave in obedience according to where they were on revelation’s timeline.
Today, Christians are responsible for all of God’s Word, because we live in a time when it is complete. Additionally, believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit, so there are no excuses for not acknowledging Jesus Christ as God.
It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in me who has taught me that Jesus is NOT Almighty God Himself in the flesh.
For you see, Yahweh, the Father is the God of Jesus who MADE the Son of MAN both Lord and Christ AFTER the cross and resurrection, according to Acts 2:36.
So again, the question is WHO will be found the TRUTHFUL WITNESS for Yahweh and WHO will be the witness on the side of Satan?
Please read the study called D-32 WHY Does God Need Faithful and TRUTHFUL WITNESSES?
“Since revelation is progressive, a person’s response to God depends on where he is on the timeline. An Old Testament Jew would have no concept of the God-man, although clues (such as Psalm 110:1) were present.
The PROPHECY in Psalm 110:1 does NOT teach that a so-called God the Son RETURNED to his throne as some Trinitarian Christians “INTERPRET” the Scriptures.
But rather, this is a prophecy of a HUMAN Son JOINING his God and Father to be seated by Yahweh at the Creator’s right hand for 1000 years during the world to come/
“But John the Baptist’s prophecies, followed by Jesus’ miracles, were further revelation. In fact, Jesus’ miracles were signs to prove who He is: “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” (John 20:30–31).
Exactly, John wrote the Gospel of John so that we would believe that Jesus is the SON of God and NOT that Jesus is Almighty God Himself in the flesh.
As far as the MIRACLES, Jesus said in John 5:19 that the Son could do NOTHING of himself and that it was the Father DWELLING in him who did the works, according to John 14:10.
And Jesus said that the works he did WE shall do ALSO.
“People today still need to respond in faith to Jesus’ miracles. Those who do not are spiritually blind.”
Again,as far as the MIRACLES, Jesus said in John 5:19 that the Son could do NOTHING of himself and that it was the Father DWELLING in him who did the works, according to John 14:10.
And Jesus said that the works he did WE shall do ALSO.
“To summarize, God’s statements that He is not a man and Jesus’ statements that He is the Son of God coexist as true; they are not in conflict.
Revelation is progressive, and Old Testament concepts are more fully developed in the New Testament.
Finally, God always had it in mind that the Son would become flesh and dwell among men, so God never “changed His mind” about becoming a man.”
Again, there is NOT ONE prophecy of a SON becoming FLESH.
In fact, the phrase “the Son of God” is only found ONE time in the Old Testament.
Daniel
“He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.”
And the Young’s LITERAL translation says the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”
Now, all Trinitarian Christians have been TAUGHT to believe by church TRADITION of the Roman Catholic Church that ONLY Almighty God could die for our sins.
They argue that all humans are BORN with a SINFUL NATURE.
And thus, they conclude that Jesus is the ONLY one who could be a SINLESS sacrifice, because to THEM, Jesus is Almighty God Himself in the flesh.
Here is another quote from a different article on the same website at Got Questions.org.
The article is called Is Jesus God in the Flesh?
The emphasis is mine.
“His divine nature made Him fit for the work of Redeemer; His human body allowed Him to shed the blood necessary to redeem.
No human being with a sin nature could pay such a debt.
No one else could meet the requirements to become the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world (Matthew 26:28; 1 John 2:2).
If Jesus were merely a good man as some claim, then He had a sin nature and was not perfect.
In that case, His death and resurrection would have no power to save anyone.
Because Jesus was God in the flesh, He alone could pay the debt we owed to God.
His victory over death and the grave won the victory for everyone who puts their trust in Him (John 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 17).”
So again, the question remains, WHO will be found as the TRUTHFUL WITNESSES of God and WHO will be witnesses on the side of Satan.
Please read the study called D-32 WHY Does God Need Faithful and TRUTHFUL WITNESSES?
For me, Numbers 23:19 PLAINLY STATES that God is NOT a MAN and NEITHER in God the Son of MAN.
So I am not going to TRY to explain it away to believe in a MAN-MADE doctrine that took over three hundred years to be FORCED upon Christians,’And even then, many Christians chose to be martyred rather than to DENY the TRUE Jesus of the Bible.
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1-In the BEGINNING, and D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
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Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
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