The Quran permits murdering jihadis to take captive and rape married women:

Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess. Thus has Allah ordained for you. All others are lawful, provided you seek (them in marriage) with Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) from your property, desiring chastity, not committing illegal sexual intercourse, so with those of whom you have enjoyed sexual relations, give them their Mahr as prescribed; but if after a Mahr is prescribed, you agree mutually (to give more), there is no sin on you. Surely, Allah is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise. S. 4:24 Hilali-Khan

Here’s the “historical” background for the “revelation” of this wicked, satanic verse:  

9) Chapter: It is permissible to have intercourse with a female captive after it is established that she is not pregnant, and if she has a husband, THEN HER MARRIAGE IS ANNULLED WHEN SHE IS CAPTURED

Abu Sa’id al-Khudri reported that at the Battle of Hanain Allah’s Messenger sent an army to Autas and encountered the enemy and fought with them. Having overcome them and taken them captives, the Companions of Allah’s Messenger seemed to refrain from having intercourse with captive women because of their husbands being polytheists. Then Allah, Most High, sent down regarding that: “And women already married, except those whom your right hands possess (iv. 24)” (i.e. they were lawful for them when their ‘Idda period came to an end).

Reference: Sahih Muslim 1456a

In-book reference: Book 17, Hadith 41

USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 8, Hadith 3432 (sunnah.com https://sunnah.com/muslim:1456a; bold and capital emphasis mine)

And:

This hadith has been reported on the authority of AbuSa’id (al-Khudri) through another chain of transmitters and the words are:

They took captives (women) on the day of Autas who had their husbands. They were afraid (to have sexual intercourse with them) when this verse was revealed: “And women already married except those whom you right hands posses” (iv. 24)

Reference: Sahih Muslim 1456d

In-book reference: Book 17, Hadith 43

USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 8, Hadith 3433 (Ibid. https://sunnah.com/muslim:1456d; bold emphasis mine)

Abu Said al-Khudri said: The apostle of Allah sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Quranic verse, ‘And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess’. That is to say, they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period.

Grade: SAHIH (Al-Albani) (Sunan Abu Dawud, Volume 2, Number 2150 https://sunnah.com/abudawud/12/110; bold emphasis mine)

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri that he said: We got female captives from Awtas who had husbands. It seemed that some of the companions of the Messenger of Allah felt it difficult upon themselves to have sexual relations with them on account of their husbands are from the infidels. We asked The Messenger of Allah about that thereupon Aallah revealed (what means): {Also (forbidden for marriage) are the married women, except those whom your right hand possess}. By this, they became lawful for us (once the term of their ‘iddah elapsed). [Abu Dawud; At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa’i]

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that he said: When it was the day of Hunayn (battle) and Allah Almighty helped the Muslims conquer Hunayn, the Muslims got female captives from the people of the Scripture. If a man liked to have sexual intercourse with any woman (of them whom his right hand possessed) SHE WOULD SAY TO HIM: “I HAVE A HUSBAND”. The Messenger of Allah was asked about that, thereupon Allah revealed this Qur’anic Verse. [Al-Tabarani] (Jalal Al-Din Al-Suyuti, Reasons and Occasions of Revelation of the Holy Qur’an (Lubab An-Nuqul Fi Asbab An-Nuzul), translated by Dr. Muhammad Mahdi Al-Sharif [Dar Al-Kotob Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut 2015], pp. 101-102; capital emphasis mine)

And forbidden to you are wedded women those with spouses that you should marry them before they have left their spouses be they Muslim free women or not; save what your right hands own of captured slave girls whom you may have sexual intercourse with even if they should have spouses among the enemy camp but only after they have been absolved of the possibility of pregnancy after the completion of one menstrual cycle… (Tafsir al-Jalalayn https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=74&tSoraNo=4&tAyahNo=24&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; bold emphasis mine)

Instead of telling his murdering thugs that they were right for feeling uncomfortable about having sex with captives whose husbands were still alive, Muhammad and his suck puppet god encouraged this grossly immoral and perverted act by permitting Muslim men to rape any and all married women whom they had enslaved.

Hence, Muhammad and his deity allow for Muhammadans to not only attack and murder unsuspecting folks, but also to capture married women, rape them and then sell them off.

If this doesn’t convince people that Muhammad was a tool of Satan then nothing else will.

FURTHER READING

MUHAMMAD’S UNJUST AND IMMORAL RULES ON ADULTERY

ALLAH’S MISOGYNY AND ABUSE OF WOMEN

A note on the humanitarian character of Deut 21.10-14

Old Testament and the Issue of Rape Revisited

In this short post I will quote a slew of verses in regards to the correct interpretation of Numbers 5:22 to refute the shameful lie of those who seek to justify murdering unborn babies. These bible perverts look for certain translations which, sadly, misinterpret this passage in such a way as to give the misleading impression that an adulterous woman who is pregnant will be forced to drink a mixture prescribed by God that will abort the baby if she is guilty of adultery.

The fact is that this passage has nothing to do with a baby being aborted. Rather, the mixture that is prescribed is intended to damage the woman’s uterine so that she will never able to conceive a child as punishment for committing adultery and defiling her marital vows.

With the foregoing in view I now cite specific translations that accurately render and perfectly capture the actual meaning of this inspired text.

CEV Next, he will remove her veil, then hand her the barley offering, and say, “If you have been faithful to your husband, this water won’t harm you. But if you have been unfaithful, it will bring down the Lord’s curse—YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GIVE BIRTH TO A CHILD, and everyone will curse your name.” Then the woman will answer, “If I am guilty, let it happen just as you say.”

EXB This water that brings a curse will go inside you and make your ·stomach get big [or uterus drop] and make your ·body UNABLE TO GIVE BIRTH TO ANOTHER BABY [womb discharge; L your thigh waste away/wither; 5:21].” “‘The woman must say, “I agree.”

NCV This water that brings a curse will go inside you and make your body UNABLE TO GIVE BIRTH TO ANOTHER BABY.”

ICB This water that brings a curse will go inside you. Your stomach will get big, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY.”

CSB May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ “And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’

CEB And may the water that brings these curses enter your stomach and make your womb discharge and make you miscarry.” And the woman will say, “I agree, I agree.”

CJB May this water that causes the curse go into your inner parts and make your abdomen swell and your private parts shrivel up!” — and the woman is to respond, “Amen! Amen!”

GNT May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up AND YOUR GENITAL ORGANS TO SHRINK.” The woman shall respond, “I agree; may the Lord do so.”

GW ‘May this water that can bring a curse go into your body and make your stomach swell and your uterus drop!’ “Then the woman will say, ‘Amen, amen!’

NOG ‘May this water that can bring a curse go into your body and make your stomach swell and your uterus drop!’ “Then the woman will say, ‘Amen, amen!’

NABRE May this water, then, that brings a curse, enter your bowels to make your belly swell and your uterus fall!” And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!”

MSG “… But if you have had an affair while married to your husband and have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband’—here the priest puts the woman under this curse—‘may God cause your people to curse and revile you when he makes YOUR WOMB SHRIVEL and YOUR BELLY SWELL. Let this water that delivers a curse enter your body so that your belly swells and your womb shrivels.’ “Then the woman shall say, ‘Amen. Amen.’”

NLT Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ And the woman will be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’

NRSVUE now may this water that brings the curse enter your bowels and make your womb discharge, your uterus drop!’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen. Amen.’

NCB this water that brings on a curse will descend to your womb causing it to swell and your loins to rot.” The woman will then say, “Amen, amen.”

NET and this water that causes the curse will go into your stomach and make your abdomen swell and your thigh rot.” Then the woman must say, “Amen, amen.” \

NKJV and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” ‘Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

NLV This water that brings a curse will go into your stomach and make it grow bigger and your leg to waste away.” And the woman will say, “Let it be so. Let it be so.”

RSVCE may this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your body swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

YLT and these waters which cause the curse have gone into thy bowels, to cause the belly to swell, and the thigh to fall; and the woman hath said, Amen, Amen.

Here’s the link to a livestream I did discussing of this text: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W47MmvgGpNo&lc=Ugy8AhtM3lUF5rPyJFx4AaABAg.

REFUTING ANOTHER UNITARIAN CANARD

I continue from where I previously left off: JESUS’ GOD PT. 1.

In this post I will show that the very inspired writings which these anti-Trinitarians appeal to emphatically affirm that Jesus is God in an absolute sense, being one with the Father and Spirit in essence, glory and majesty.

I begin with the witness of John himself.

JOHN

John begins his Gospel by declaring Jesus to be the eternal Word who has been existing with God from before creation, and has always been God in nature, whom God then appointed to create and give life to the entire creation. This is the very Word who then became flesh, meaning who became the Man Christ Jesus:    

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (kai theos een ho logos). He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind… This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-4, 9-10, 14 New American Standard Bible (NASB)  

Here in the prologue John has attributed to Christ the exclusive functions and characteristics, which the Hebrew Bible ascribes to Yahweh alone.

For instance, the [O]ld [T]estament emphatically teaches that Yahweh alone created and sustains all creation, and that he is the sole source of spiritual light since illumination comes from him alone:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created in making it. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet grown, for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a stream would rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so the man became a living being… So Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. And Yahweh God fashioned the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman, and He brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This one finally is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called Woman, Because this one was taken out of Man.’” Genesis 2:1-7, 21-23

“And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, ‘Rise up, bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting! O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are Yahweh. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down to You.’” Nehemiah 9:5-6

“Who ALONE stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea;” Job 9:8

“Did not He who made me in the womb make him, And the same one fashion us in the womb?” Job 31:15

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

“Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, ‘I, Yahweh, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself And spreading out the earth all alone,’” Isaiah 44:24

“It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands, And I commanded all their host… For thus says Yahweh, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it a formless place, but formed it to be inhabited), ‘I am Yahweh, and there is none else.’” Isaiah 45:12, 18

In light of the foregoing, the inspired Apostle could not identify Christ as the true Light who enlightens all mankind or describe him as the One by whom all creation came into existence unless he believed that the Son (along with the Father and the Holy Spirit) is YHWH Almighty.

Nor could John claim that Christ has been existing as God from before creation if he didn’t think that Jesus is YHWH God who became a Man, since the OT is explicitly clear that YHWH is the only God who has been existing from all eternity:  

“A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, You have been our dwelling place from generation to generation. Before the mountains were born Or You brought forth the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2

“Yahweh reigns, He is clothed with majesty; Yahweh has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is established, it will not be shaken. Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” Psalm 93:1-2

“‘You are My witnesses,’ declares Yahweh, ‘And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no god formed, And there will be none after Me. I, even I, am Yahweh, And there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and caused it to be heard, And there was no strange god among you; So you are My witnesses,’ declares Yahweh, ‘And I am God. Even from eternity I am He, And there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?’” Isaiah 43:10-13    

John has more to say.

According to the Evangelist, God has never been and can never be known apart from the Son coming to reveal and explain him:

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God (monogenes theos) who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” John 1:18

The reading adopted here, monogenes theos, is based on the two oldest surviving Greek manuscripts of this verse, namely P⁶⁶ and P⁷⁵, which are dated anywhere from the late second to third century AD. Note the various ways Bible versions have rendered this phrase:

“No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him.” NASB  

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” John 1:18 English Standard Version (ESV)

“No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.” Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

“No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.” Common English Bible (CEB)

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.” Contemporary English Version (CEV)

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is the same as God and is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” Good News Translation (GNT)

“No one has ever seen God. The uniquely existing God, who is close to the Father’s side, has revealed him.” International Standard Version (ISV)

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, himself God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.” William Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament (MOUNCE)

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.” New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)

“No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known.” (NET)

No one has ever seen God. But the One and Only is God and is at the Father’s side. The one at the Father’s side has shown us what God is like.” New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” New International Version (NIV)

“No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” New Living Translation (NLT)

“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

“No one has ever seen God. It is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

Now this places the anti-Trinitarian in a dilemma since John is clear that no one has ever seen God at any time apart from the Son’s revelation of God. And yet we are told that all throughout the OT period many saw God visibly and spoke directly with him. Some examples include:

“Now it happened that when Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; Walk before Me and be blameless, so that I may confirm My covenant between Me and you, And that I may multiply you exceedingly.’ Then Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying… So He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.” Genesis 17:1-3, 22

“Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they beheld God, and they ate and drank.” Exodus 24:9-11

“Then Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. And then both came forward, and He said, ‘Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Indeed clearly, and not in riddles, And he beholds the form of Yahweh. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?’” Numbers 12:5-8

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called out, while the house of God was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of hosts.” Isaiah 6:1-5

“I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, ‘Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will quake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword; Not one of them who can flee will flee, And not one of them who can survive will escape.’” Amos 9:1

According to the inspired John, the only way that these OT figures could have beheld and seen YHWH is if they were actually beholding the Son in his prehuman existence.

In other words, John is indicating that it was none other than Jesus himself who, in his preincarnate state, had been appearing to the patriarchs and prophets as YHWH God Almighty for the express purpose of revealing God to them.

In fact, the climax of the Gospel is John’s bookend where Thomas utters a Christological confession in response to seeing the risen Jesus in his glorified physical body:

 “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples were saying to him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand here and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said TO HIM, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:24-29

Thomas unambiguously acknowledges the glorified Jesus to be his very Lord and God!

What makes this so astonishing is that Thomas’ confession is virtually identical to the following Psalm’s description of YHWH:

“You have seen it, O Yahweh, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me. Stir up Yourself, and awake to my justice And to my cause, my God and my Lord. Judge me, O Yahweh my God, according to Your righteousness, And do not let them be glad over me.” Psalm 35:22-24

Here’s the Greek rendering of the Psalmist’s confession:

“Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, [even] to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho theos mou kai ho kyrios mou).” Psalm 34:23 LXX

Now compare this with the Greek of John:

“Thomas replied, ‘You are my Lord and my God (ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou)!’” John 20:28 CEV

“And Thomas answered and said UTO HIM (eipen auto), My Lord and my God.” Authorized King James Version (AV)

The phrasing of the two texts is identical with the only difference being that the word order is different, i.e., “my Lord and my God” vs. “my God and my Lord.”

The anti-Trinitarian is now faced with a massive problem since the only way that a monotheistic Jew like Thomas could dare make such a confession is if he were convinced that Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh. There’s simply no way around this for the unitarian/arian disbeliever.  

This point is further strengthened by John describing Jesus doing what the OT ascribes to YHWH, namely, breathing out the Holy Spirit upon his disciples:

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.’” John 20:21-23  

The risen Christ ends up fulfilling the words of John the Baptist who had stated that the Son would baptize individuals with/in the Holy Spirit:

“On the next day, he saw Jesus coming to him and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, “After me comes a man who has been ahead of me, for He existed before me.” I did not know Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing with water.’ And John bore witness saying, ‘I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abided on Him. And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “The One upon whom you see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, this is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’” John 1:29-34

Remarkably, the Hebrew Bible is crystal clear that YHWH alone breathes forth the Holy Spirit and that he is the One who pours out the Spirit upon believers:

“Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your uncleanness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to do My judgments.” Ezekiel 36:26-27

This next one is also interesting since Yahweh announces that he will pour out His Spirit in connection with all those who would call upon his name for salvation:

“And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit. And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes. And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.” Joel 2:28-32

And yet John is clear that it is Jesus’ name that a person must embrace in order to be saved!  

“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, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13

“Therefore many other signs Jesus also did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:30-31

The Apostle even goes as far as to say that Christ is the Hearer of prayer, being the One who will personally answer every request made in his name!

“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness about His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has this witness in himself. The one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has borne witness about His Son. And the witness is this, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have that life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:9-15

“Whatever you ask in My name, this will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14

Once again, Jesus does what the OT ascribes to YHWH alone:

“To You, there will be silence and praise in Zion, O God, And to You the vow will be paid. O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh comes.” Psalm 65:1-2

In light of the foregoing, could John have been any clearer or mor explicit in affirming that Jesus is indeed YHWH Almighty who became Man, being the unique Son of God who is one with the Father and the Son in essence and glory?

 In the next part I conclude with the witness of the holy and blessed Apostle Paul: JESUS’ GOD PT. 3.

REFUTING ANOTHER UNITARIAN CANARD

Unitarians and other non-Trinitarians will often appeal to statements where Christ and his followers refer to the Father as Jesus’ God. Case in point:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, “I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God (kai theon mou kai theon hymon).’” Read full chapter John 20:17

Here, the post-resurrected Christ identifies the Father as being both his God and the God of his disciples.

The Apostle Paul did likewise in that he described the Father as being the God of Jesus even in his heavenly state where he has been exalted far above all creation:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,” 2 Corinthians 1:3

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the full knowledge of Him, so that you—the eyes of your heart having been enlightened—will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL rule and authority and power and dominion, and EVERY name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put ALL things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over ALL things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:3, 17-23

In this post I will address the reason why the Father can be Jesus’s God without this undermining the explicit teaching of Scripture that Christ is also God and therefore coequal to the Father in essence. I will demonstrate that the God-breathed Scriptures teach that it isn’t an either/or scenario, but rather a both/and situation, and that this unitarian objection is nothing more than a false dichotomy.

THE REFUTATION

The Scriptures plainly teach that YHWH is the God of all flesh, being the one and only God of the entire human race:

“Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, ‘Behold, I am Yahweh, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?’” Jeremiah 32:26-27

“But they fell on their faces and said, ‘O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?’” Numbers 16:22

“May Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of Yahweh will not be like sheep which have no shepherd.” Numbers 27:16-17

The sacred writings further attest that Jesus became flesh, became Man, when he was conceived from and born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit (Cf. Matt. 1:16-25; Lk. 1:26-37). Christ did so in order to become the Servant of the Father for the express purpose of accomplishing the salvation of the world:

“in order that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A battered reed He will not break off, And a smoldering wick He will not put out, Until He leads justice to victory. And in His name the Gentiles will hope.’” Matthew 12:17-21

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

“For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as the one who serves.” Luke 22:27

“For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,” Romans 15:8

It is precisely from the moment of his human conception that the Father became his God, just as the following Messianic prophecies attest:

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my groaning… In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You rescued them. To You they cried out and were granted escape; In You they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, A reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; They smack their lip, they wag their head, saying, ‘Commit yourself to Yahweh; let Him rescue him; Let Him deliver him, because He delights in him.’ Yet You are He who brought me out of the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God FROM MY MOTHER’S WOMB… For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet… They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots… I will surely recount Your name to my brothers; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.” Psalm 22:1, 4-10, 16, 18, 22 – Cf. Matt. 27:37-46; John 19:23-24; Heb. 2:12

“Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us; With a rod they will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from everlasting, From the ancient days. Therefore He will give them up until the time When she who is in childbirth has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brothers Will return to the sons of Israel. And He will stand and shepherd His flock In the strength of Yahweh, In the majesty of the name of Yahweh His God. And they will remain Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth. And this One will be peace…” Micah 5:1-5a – Cf. Matthew 2:1-6; Lk. 2:1-7

In other words, the reason why the Father is Jesus’ God is because Christ is also human. By virtue of becoming a human being, Jesus now relates to the Father as all human beings do, namely, he is the Incarnate Son who honors the Father as his God.

And since Jesus will forever remain a Man with a glorified physical body of flesh, the Father will continue to be his God forever and ever:

“Now while they were telling these things, He Himself stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’ But being startled and frightened, they were thinking that they were seeing a spirit. And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they still were not believing because of their joy and were still marveling, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and He took it and ate it before them.” Luke 24:36-43

“But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. For David says of Him, ‘I saw the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope; Because You will not forsake my soul to Hades, Nor give Your Holy One over to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’ Men, brothers, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to set one of the fruit of his body on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither forsaken to Hades, NOR DID HIS FLESH SEE CORRUPTION. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this which you both see and hear.” Acts 2:24-33

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31

“So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” 1 Corinthians 15:45-49

“and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead… For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:9-11, 20-21

“For there IS one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the MAN Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5

“Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of My God… He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments, and I will never erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels… He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he will never go out from it anymore. And I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” Revelation 3:2, 5, 12

This explains why the risen Christ is said to still be from the tribe of Judah and a physical descendant of David while in heaven:

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Stop crying! Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.’” Revelation 5:5

“I, Jesus, sent My angel to bear witness to you of these things for the churches. I AM the root and the DESCENDANT of David, the bright morning star.” Revelation 22:16

I.e., because Christ is still a human being (albeit a glorified One) he continues to have a human lineage that forever makes him an Israelite and a physical offspring of David.

With the foregoing in view, I will seek to demonstrate in the subsequent parts of my rebuttal that these same inspired writings affirm in the clearest manner possible that Christ is also truly God in essence and no mere creature.

Readers may now wish to proceed to the next part: JESUS’ GOD PT. 2.