Misconstrued Scripture
Where is the weight of evidence in what you believe?
Ask yourself this. What came first, the inspiration from God or the Bible translators?
The one that came second is where the problem begins in most of these cases. These verses will be discussed primarily without any relation to prior denominational thought.
Genesis 1:26 — “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
When God says “Let us” it is often assumed that He was speaking to his partners in the trinity. Some might say that God was speaking to His Son in this case. Either way, you would have to make a huge assumption and add to the verse. What is more likely is that he was talking to His Heavenly host, the angels besides His Son. An all-inclusive message to gain support for them to manage creation and man on earth and get their cooperation. An example of this is in the book of Ezra. A small group of people wrote a letter to Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:7) and his response in verse 18 notes, “The letter ye sent unto us has been plainly read before me. The letter was to one person, Artaxerxes, yet his response was in the plural, “us.” This is a classic example of how a king or person of dignity would answer in the plurality of majesty.
Isaiah 9:6 — “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” The easiest response to this verse is that it is forward thinking, speaking about Christ’s identity into the future. The dead giveaway are the words, “shall be.” Trinitarians want to hang these titles on Christ now. But this verse doesn’t even support a trinity god doctrine. When it speaks of him being the “everlasting Father,” this is not to be confused with His Father. Nowhere else is Jesus ever referred to as an everlasting Father. This is like confounding the persons. And trinitarians do like to hold somewhat to the Athanasian Creed which states, “Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance…”. The way most translations are published, it leaves confusion on the topic. In reality of its usage here of Jesus being the “father,” it is to denote the start of something or beginning. An example of this is in (Genesis 4:20, 21) where Jabal was the father of those that dwelled in tents (the start of something) and Jubal who was the father of those that handled or played the harp and organ. The word Everlasting in Hebrew means “age.” Christ will be the father of the age or world to come, but keep in mind that he will still be subjected to His Father in the end. (1 Cor. 15:28). In Semitic languages, someone acting in the authority of God was called god. Hebrew only has upper case letters, so it cannot distinguish between the God with deity vs. a false god by using “G” or “g.” Nor can it distinguish between the one true God and who he has deemed with authority here on earth on His behalf like kings, judges, etc. (Psalms 82:1-7). In John 10:34-35, Jesus himself makes a reference to this as well to the religious leaders of his day when he said, “Is it not written in your Law, I said, Ye are gods?” Martin Luther in his translation to German recorded “mighty God” as “mighty hero.” And in English, James Moffatt (1870-1944) did the same understanding the hierarchy and recognition in its usage without leaning toward an agenda. “For a child has been born to us; the royal dignity he wears, and this the title that he bears—“A wonder of a counsellor, a divine hero, a father for all time, a peaceful prince!”
Matthew 3:16-17 — “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: v17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Who was present at Jesus’ baptism? 1) Jesus, 2) His Father, 3) John who did the baptizing. Trinitarians try and turn the Spirit of God which descended like a dove into a mystery ghost called “god the holy spirit.” If God’s own Spirit is another being separate from Him, then His voice when it spoke needs to be treated in the same way as a fourth god-being. That is the lunacy in the thinking of this verse stretching into a trinity doctrine supported verse. The example of a dove throws people off, because a symbol or picture of a dove is often used in place of illustrating something that can’t be illustrated that is invisible, and that is the Spirit of God. God’s own Spirit. It is His Spirit! How does a dove descend from its flight when it comes to the earth? Slow and in a fluttering motion. That is how the Spirit of God descended upon the head of Christ at his baptism. It illuminated like a light on Christ as beams of glory from the Father. Nothing more, nothing less. For additional information, refer to: https://www.truthseeker.church/matthew-3-16-17
Matthew 28:19 — “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” What is missing from this verse? The word “God.” What is listed here are three titles, not a single name. It speaks in plurality with three titles. It does not match the context of the verse before it and after it which is all about Jesus. The original text before the second century was, “baptizing them in my name.” As in the name of Jesus which is exactly how all of the baptismal events took place in the New Testament. Trying to build support for a trinity doctrine from this verse is very flawed and weak thinking. For a deeper explanation refer to: https://www.truthseeker.church/matthew28
John 1:1-5 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. v2 The same was in the beginning with God. v3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. v4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. v5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” This is solely speaking of God, as in the Father. The Father used the prophets and His people still did not know Him and turned to idols. He used John. He then had to use His own Son. The Son came to reveal the Father, the Son did not come to reveal the Son. More information on this is shared in the chapter on “John 1 – a complete misunderstanding.”
John 8:58 — “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.” If you look past this one verse and into the context of the chapter, the Jewish leadership were questioning Jesus’ age and his response was the equivalent to, before Abraham was, I existed. I already existed because I am from before the earth was formed. Older Bibles will properly use lower case lettering for “am.” But more recent editions capitalize the word because of their bias. And within the Seventh-day Adventist church in the early 1900’s William Warren Prescott was pushing this “I AM” narrative. All it takes is for someone to have a conscious, thinking mind and to read their Bible, reading context and comparing Scripture and they can see through such things.
John 14:9 — “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” Christ is called the “image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4), “the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3), and referenced as “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He came to reveal his Father, not himself. The Father was working through Christ through his indwelling Spirit which is why in the next verse Jesus states that “I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10)
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Chapters of John 14 to 16 — we are going to group the next five examples together because they are used individually to propose confusion about the Holy Spirit, yet they are all related on the same topic. And that is about, who is the Comforter? What was taught and believed in Ellen White’s day has completely been turned upside down. If people understood the context and what we really believe, they would realize this turns the trinity doctrine on its head.
1) John 14:16 — “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”
2) John 14:26 — “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
3) John 15:26 — “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”
4) John 16:7 — “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
5) John 16:13 — “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
It takes pages and pages to unravel this lie. We are going to be as brief as possible for the sake of saving space (unfortunately). This ministry has written other pieces that are more involved on this topic. Jesus was speaking in proverbs (parable) because not everyone was intended to know and understand this. This is confirmed at the end of his discourse in John 16:25 – “These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.” And his disciples now understood and responded in John 16:29 – “His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.”
Comforter = Advocate = the clue is in 1 John 2:1 – “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
In John 14:6, Jesus said he is “the truth”. So what would be the Spirit of truth? The Spirit of Jesus! The Father’s Spirit was dwelling in Jesus and doing the works. But this would change after his death and ascension. In John 14:17 he stated, “Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Christ was dwelling with them in human bodily form, human nature right there in person. But he was telling them that in a parable, he would return to them and be in them through a Spiritual nature. How? Through the Spirit. The Spirit of God was going to be given to Christ in full measure (glorified-John 7:39) in Heaven upon his ascension to Heaven and return to the disciples as the Spirit of Christ. This is why he said in John 14:18 – “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.” Christ said he was coming to them, not sending a friend or someone else. He says in verse 21 that he “will manifest himself to them.” In verse 22, Judas asks, “HOW will you manifest yourself unto us and not the world?” Judas understood Jesus as far as the parable of Christ coming back to them as the Comforter. Christ was one form of a Comforter while on earth, but was going to be another type of Comforter once he returned. But they just couldn’t understand HOW the spiritual manifestation would take place. He said the Father would send the Holy Spirit in HIS NAME (John 14:26).
“Christ is to be known by the blessed name of Comforter. “The Comforter,” said Christ to His disciples, “which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you, Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” — Ellen White, Manuscript 7, January 26, 1902, par. 10
“The reason why the churches are weak and sickly and ready to die, is that the enemy has brought influences of a discouraging nature to bear upon trembling souls. He has sought to shut Jesus from their view as the Comforter, as one who reproves, who warns, who admonishes them, saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it.” — Ellen White, Review and Herald, August 26, 1890, ‘The Righteousness of Christ’
“That Christ should manifest Himself to them, and yet be invisible to the world, was a mystery to the disciples. They could not understand the words of Christ in their spiritual sense. They were thinking of the outward, visible manifestation. They could not take in the fact that they could have the presence of Christ with them, and yet He be unseen by the world. They did not understand the meaning of a spiritual manifestation.” — Ellen White, The Southern Review, Sept. 13, 1898 par. 2; Manuscript 44, May 13, 1897, par. 3
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John 10:30 — “I and my Father are one.” Many will take this one verse and take the easy road to build a doctrine on it. But what did Jesus teach? Jesus and the Father are not one being. They are one in character, mind and purpose, for the salvation of man. It’s plain and simple. And Jesus used similar language in John 17:11, 17:22 when Jesus was praying to his Father requesting that the disciples be one as he and his Father are one. James White gives a great quote on this one further back in this booklet.
John 20:28 — “And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” Because Christ is the express image of the Father, Thomas was reflecting on that. He was not calling Jesus God as in the mind of a trinitarian. God was working through Christ, and Christ was reflecting the Father’s character, and representing the Father. So if anything, Thomas is addressing two beings here, Christ and His Father.
Acts 5:3-4 — “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? v4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” This is another example of reading short of the story line and context that is laid out in the chapter. A pastor will never share beyond these two texts in the chapter and rely on the laziness of his attendees. Why? Because it is non-trinitarian. The Holy Ghost here is speaking of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of the Lord. God is a Spirit, what He is, is a Holy Spirit. Do you think you can lie to God as in the Father, but not to His Spirit and get away with it? If someone lied to you in person, did they lie to your spirit as if it was a separate being from you, or did they actually lie to you. Either way, they lied to you! If you can lie to the Holy Spirit, you are directly lying to God Almighty Himself! This is confirmed in verse 9 of the same chapter. “v9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.”
1 Corinthians 8:6 — “But to us there is but one God, the Father, or whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” This verse stands as a testimony that Jesus is not equal with his Father. However, a misunderstanding is made when it states that “by whom are all things.” This is not talking about the Genesis 1 creation. God has provided all things for His church through His Son. This verse speaks against polytheism which was rampant in Corinth and reinforces that there is one God as anyone will see when they take a look at the previous two verses (1 Cor. 8:4-5) when it speaks against eating things offered unto idols (false gods) and that there are many that are called gods (false mighty ones). Verse 6 does not say that this one God is made up of a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And Jesus is excluded from this one God as it is just his Father.
2 Corinthians 13:14 — “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” Often times, the mere mention of three of something leads someone to believe that a verse is support for a trinity doctrine. People just don’t know the definition and background of the doctrine to understand verses like this are not doing that. It is through the Spirit that we can have the grace and the love of Christ and his Father. It is how they commune with us, through their spirit. God is a Spirit the Bible tells us. (John 4:24). The Spirit is the Spirit of your Father (Matt. 10:20). While there is only one God mentioned in the above verse, there are actually two persons mentioned, the Father and the Son. Elsewhere in Scripture, what is very common is an opening greeting by many writers such as Paul, James, Peter and John. And we can find 19 times that they greet us in the title of God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:1-2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:1-2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:1-2, 1:4, Philemon 1:3, James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:2, 2 Peter 1:2, 1 John 1:3, 2 John 1:3.) So if you insisted on holding onto 2 Corinthians 13:14 to build your trinity doctrine on, where is the weight of evidence? One verse vs Nineteen ?
Ephesians 3:9 — “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:” This verse and the next one in Hebrews are key examples of looking at things asking, “where is the weight of evidence?” In Scripture we have the witness of at least 30 times where it points us to the God, as in the Father as the only creator. Even the witness of Jesus states this. When it comes to the King James translators and those that are sympathetic with that edition, the words “who created all things by Jesus Christ” have been added to limited Greek manuscripts as trinitarian scribes tried to insert their position into the text. This text was an easy one to add words to the end of it.
Titus 2:13 — “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” This verse is speaking of two beings. Trinitarians somehow see this as if it were saying, “appearing of the great God Jesus Christ.” Besides this, the KJV renders a poor translations. Many other translations reveal something different when they state, “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The Aramaic Bible in Plain English put is this way: “While we look for the blessed hope and the revelation of the glory of The Great God and Our Lifegiver, Yeshua The Messiah.”
Hebrews 1:2 — “Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;” This text makes a lot of sense until you arrive at the last part that is underlined. How did Jesus make the worlds when it states in Genesis 1 and 2 that “God said” and God called” out creation through His breath of his mouth? God definitely spoke to us by His Son when he came here to earth. He definitely has been appointed heir of all things, “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Heb. 1:4). But when it comes to the weight of evidence, it does not add up to the latter part of the verse.
Hebrews 1:8-9 — “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. v9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” The unknown Hebrews writer borrowed from the book of Psalms which is applied to a king and his God and used it here in an unusual way. What is typically thought of here is that God, as in the Father is calling His Son God as in the mindset of a trinitarian. This is very erroneous and conflicts with the bulk of the Bible. Psalms 45:6-7 - “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. v7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” What Psalms 45 is declaring is, that the throne of the king of the land and his authority being referred to here, is from God. Jesus, like this king, received authority and everything from his Father (Matthew 11:27, 28:18) and that is what is being declared here. The words, “But unto the Son he saith” are easily considered to be added to this text. If you read the text and then read it in Psalms 45, it sounds more plausible. It is not saying that Jesus is God in the eyes of his Father by calling him God. The chapter of Hebrews 1 is a declaration of the hierarchy of Jesus over the angels and heavenly hosts and meant to point to the supremacy of the Son of God. But the way verse 8 is laid out in most people’s minds, it lends to the support of the term, “god the son” and having two G(g)ods. Here is how Hebrews 1:8-9 is more plausible to understand: Thy throne O king (of the land), is forever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore King (of the land), even thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Philippians 2:5-6 — “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: v6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: v7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” Christ is the express image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4, Hebrews 1:3, Genesis 1:27), therefore one could say he is in the form of God. He inherited his nature from his Father because of his Son-ship as the begotten Son of God. But it does not say Jesus is God in the way Trinitarian mindset works. Jesus was reflecting the character of God while here on earth. He was sinless. (1 Peter 2:21-22). Jesus did not state in any way that he was equal to God. It is Paul’s perspective that he used this expression, it is not the direct witness of Jesus. Although we know all power (authority) was given unto Christ (Matthew 28:18) along with his life (John 5:26). Jesus was reflecting righteousness and holiness from God. (Ephesians 4:24, 1 Peter 1:15-16). Christ definitely served as an example of a true servant in absolute humbleness even unto death. (Philippians 2:8)
1 Timothy 3:16 — “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Properly translated, it was “He” or “Jesus” was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles. Again, the King James version asserts a bias into the text using the word “God.”
1 John 3:16 — “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” This is a mistranslation. The informed reader will notice the words in italics. Properly translated, this should have read, “we know what real love is,” or “by this we know love,” or “we know love by this.” It is Christ that laid down his life for as stated correctly.
1 John 5:7-8 — “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. v8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” These verses are explained more thoroughly in the chapter “What is the Record Of?” However due to space limitations, it still is abbreviated. It is well known that specific words in these two texts were not found in Greek manuscripts prior to the 16th century. Regardless, the verses still are missing the word “God” and any description or details that would tell you God is a plurality of persons. Ellen White never quoted from this because she even knew the texts were faulty. Even the SDA Bible Commentary put together by theologians admit the issue with these texts. The original Scripture is revealed in the majority of Bible translations that are not the King James. It should read like this: “For there are three that testify; the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three are in agreement.” For a longer explanation of this refer to:
https://www.truthseeker.church/1john57
1 John 5:20 — “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” Careful reading of this verse without trinitarian glasses reveals what it says. That God, as in the Father is “him that is true” because “him that is true” has a Son named Jesus Christ. So it can’t be Jesus that is the true God. The true God is “him that is true” which is the Father and God of Christ. Jesus came to reveal the “true God.” This is further proved in a prayer by Jesus to his Father in John 17:3 – “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Revelation 1:8 — “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Many Bible translations have red lettered the opening statement as if it came from Christ. The book of Revelation comes from God, as in the Father, who gives it to Jesus, who gives it to the angel, who gives it to John. Notice the signature that ends in the verse; “the Almighty.” Jesus is not the Almighty. Another issue with this verse as it is done in the King James but not in the bulk of other translations, is it says, “saith the Lord,” instead of “saith the Lord God.” Additionally we see paralleled to Rev. 1:4: “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come, and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.” God Almighty is the one that has that throne spoken of here.