jesus christ – the omniscient lord of glory - by sam shamoun

8/6/2019 Jesus Christ – The Omniscient Lord of Glory - By Sam Shamoun

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Jesus Christ ± The Omniscient Lord of Glory! [Part 1]

Sam Shamoun

This is a continuation of our refutation (*) to Zaatari¶s ³reply´ (*) concerning the believers¶

testimony to the Deity of Christ in John¶s Gospel (*).

Saying what you mean and meaning what you say ±

More examples of Zaatari¶s carelessness

As we had mentioned in a previous rebuttal (*) Zaatari is rather careless in the way he uses

his terms and fails to clearly define his words so that his readers can understand his point. In

this recent ³reply´ he again carelessly uses a term and fails to explain what he means by it.

Yet Shamoun ignores the fact that Jesus did not know everything! Peter's statement makes a

lot of sense, but since Shamoun is a Trinitarian, he fully reads into the verse and takes itliterally. When Peter said that Jesus knows everything this was not literal [ sic], this issomething very common [ sic] in spoken languages, especially when you are talking to your

leader [ sic], you will figuratively say you know everything, but of course you don't literallymean it!

What does Zaatari mean that Peter¶s confession should be taken figuratively? Does he mean a

figure of speech, and if so what type of figure of speech does Zaatari have in mind? He surelycan¶t mean that Peter¶s words are intended to be taken metaphorically as in the saying, ³A

mighty fortress is our God.´ Nor can he possibly mean that we should understand it in the

same way that we are to understand specific Biblical statements such as God being a rock (cf.

Deuteronomy 32:4). We know that God is neither a mighty fortress nor a rock so these

statements must be metaphors, or similes, which denote something about God¶s character.

So in what sense is Peter¶s statement figurative? Did Zaatari want to say that Peter¶s words

should be taken as hyperbole, as an exaggerated way of speaking or praising his Lord and

Master? If this is what he means then Zaatari is going to have to come out and simply say so.

He is also going to have to address all the major difficulties with this being nothing more than

a hyperbolic way of referring to Jesus¶ knowledge.

For instance, if this was a common way of speaking of a person¶s knowledge and

understanding as Zaatari contends then surely he will have no problems finding plenty of

examples to substantiate this claim. We therefore challenge Zaatari to quote some Biblical

references where people spoke of certain individuals knowing everything even though they

didn¶t actually mean this since they simply meant this hyperbolically. We invite Zaatari tocite verses where a person speaks of his leader knowing everything figuratively, but not

actually.

There are other problems with Zaatari¶s argument which we will mention shortly. But first

we would like to document how Zaatari is constantly contradicting himself.



Is it Figurative or Not?

It seems that Zaatari has contradicted himself once again (we say seems since we do notknow for certain what he means by the term figurative). Notice that previously Zaatari argued

that Peter meant Jesus knew everything figuratively, but not literally, which we take to mean

that Peter was speaking hyperbolically. Yet here he wishes to prove that the Greek word for

all, pa s, doesn¶t have to literally mean all things or everything:

If Shamoun is still not happy then I refer him to the Greek, in the Greek the word translated

as everything is PAS, here is the verse with the Translation:

"He said to him the third time, µSimon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, µDo you love me?' And he said to him, ? Lord, you

know everything (PAS); you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, µFeed my sheep.

If anyone studies the word PAS, the word PAS does not literally have to mean ALL andEVERYTHING, for instance a Christian scholar himself writes:

'The whole world is gone after him.' Did all the world go after Christ? 'Then went all Judea,

and were baptized of him in Jordan.' Was all Judea, or all Jerusalem baptized in Jordan? 'Ye

are of God, little children', and 'the whole world lieth in the wicked one.' Does 'the whole

world' there mean everybody? If so, how was it, then, that there were some who were 'of

God?' The words 'world' and 'all' are used in some seven or eight senses in Scripture; and it is

very rarely that 'all' means all persons, taken individually. The words are generally used to

signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts?some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich,

some poor, and has not restricted his redemption to either Jew or Gentile." (Charles H.

Spurgeon, P art icul ar Redempt ion, A Sermon, 28 Feb 1858).

So as you can see, the very same word that Peter used, PAS, does not literally have to meaneverything. As the Christian scholar himself writes, there are passages in the Gospels which

claim that the WHOLE WORLD went after Jesus, yet did the WHOLE WORLD literally go

after him? Off course not.

Also when the Gospels say that ALL OF JUDEA were baptized in Jordan, well did all of

Judea literally baptize Jordan? Off course not.

Hence the fact is this, the word PAS does not literally have to mean all. So when Peter stated

that Jesus knows PAS, he did not literally mean that Jesus knew everything

In order to help the readers understand what Zaatari and his source are saying, it is vitallyimportant to note that the word pa s doesn¶t always mean all things or everything. The word

can refer to all kinds of, all types of, all manner of, all classes of, of every kind etc.

The word can also mean all in the sense of many (cf. Matthew 22:10; Luke 4:40; John 10:8;

Acts 5:36). In fact, in specific contexts it is actually used in parallel with polus, or ³many´:

³That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all (pant a ) the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many (poll ou) who had

various diseases. He also drove out many (polla ) demons, but he would not let the demonsspeak because they knew who he was.´ Mark 1:32-34



In this example, the word pa s (³all´) refers to the many sick and demon-possessedindividuals who came to the Lord Jesus to be healed.

Zaatari seems to be saying that Peter is using pa s to mean that Jesus knew all sorts of things ±

perhaps in relation to the outcome of his earthly mission ± but doesn¶t know everything in an

absolute sense like God does.

Here is where Zaatari shows that he is delving into issues that are well beyond him. If Peter¶s

statements were hyperbolic then this means that pa s does actually mean everything in the

absolute sense, e.g. Jesus knows absolutely everything there is to know. Yet Peter could not

have meant this literally since Christ isn¶t omniscient (or so Zawadi erroneously assumes).

Yet if pa s doesn¶t mean everything but has a more restricted meaning just as we find in the

examples from Spurgeon¶s quote (with the exception of John 12:19 which is obviously a

hyperbolic use of the phrase ³the whole world´) then Zaatari cannot argue for a hyperbolic

application at this point. He must accept that pa s is being used in a literal manner to indicate

that Jesus actually knows everything there is to know in respect to the extent of what pa s is

intended to cover here.

In other words, if Peter¶s use of pa s is figurative, and if by this Zaatari means hyperbolic,then it does actually mean everything or all things; but since Christ is not omniscient then it

must be taken as hyperbole. However, if pa s doesn¶t mean everything but actually means that

Christ knows all kinds of things or knows what God¶s will is for his earthly life, then it can

no longer be a case of hyperbole. It must be taken in the sense that the author intended it to be

understood, i.e. Jesus knew a lot or knew all that he needed to know concerning what the

outcome of his earthly mission would entail.

We will let Zaatari sort through all of the confusion that his careless and sloppy way of

writing and expressing his point has caused for both himself and his readers.

We now turn our attention to Zaatari¶s claim that the Scriptures deny that Jesus is omniscient.

Addressing Zaatari¶s Selective Citation of Holy Scripture

Zaatari repeatedly shows that he has no regard or concern for accurately handling the inspired

Word of God. He will often quote a text out of its immediate and overall contexts in order to

make the Holy Bible agree with his presuppositions, even though a careful analysis of the

passage in question actually serves to refute his entire case. And when he can¶t twist a

reference successfully to prove his assertion he will then attack the textual veracity of the

inspired Scriptures.

He does it here in respect to the Biblical witness to the omniscience of the Lord Jesus:

Shamoun will say well I am arguing from silence, however so I am not, because we know

that Jesus himself stated that he is ignorant! Hence you cant have it both ways, if Jesus

openly said he was ignorant, and here we have Peter saying he knows everything, then that is

a contradiction. Yet is isn't a contradiction because since we know that Jesus is ignorant, then

we know that Peter was only speaking figuratively here, not literally.



I assume that Zaatari is alluding to Jesus¶ statement where he denies knowing the day or hour of Jerusalem¶s destruction:

³But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but

only the Father.´ Mark 13:32 cf. Matthew 24:36

No matter how many times we address this text Zaatari always chooses to simply ignore our answers since he is not interested in truth or in dealing with what the Holy Bible teaches as a

whole. Seeing that we have already addressed this passage elsewhere (*; *; *) we will simply

summarize our points.

First, if the readers pay close attention to Christ¶s words here they will see that there is anorder of ascendancy where Jesus places himself above all creatures, both human beings and

angels, and is subject only to the Father. The order goes something like this:

4. Humans.3. Angels.

2. The Son.

1. The Father.

Second, in this same chapter Jesus claims to be the Son of Man who rides the clouds and who

sends forth angels to gather his elect believers:

³And then they will see the Son of man coming in cl ouds with great power and g l ory. And

then he wi ll send out the angel s, and g ather HIS el ect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.´ Mark 13:26-27

Christ is identifying himself with the heavenly Son of Man of Daniel 7:13-14, the One who is

worshiped by all creation and rules forever. This, in itself, is a highly exalted claim since

Christ is basically saying that he is a fully Divine Being who is also human and will beworshiped by all the creation he reigns over forever! This reinforces the fact that Christ

believed that he is greater than both angels and humans. More on Jesus being the Son of Man

later.

Third, the same Gospel testifies that Jesus does know all things, since he knows things that

only God can know:

³And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, µ My son, your sins are forgiven.¶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, µWhy does this man

speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God al one?¶ And i mmedi atel y Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themsel ves, said to them, µWhy do

you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ³Your sins areforgiven,´ or to say, ³Rise, take up your pallet and walk´? But that you may know that the

Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins¶ -- he said to the paralytic ± µI say to you,

rise, take up your pallet and go home.¶ And he rose, and i mmedi atel y took up the pall et and

went out before them all ; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, µWe never

saw anything like this!¶´ Mark 2:5-11; cf. Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26



In this passage Christ knows what a person is thinking in his/her heart, has authority toforgive sins, and the Divine power to heal diseases. Yet according to the OT Scriptures these

are some of the exclusively Divine functions which distinguish God from all the others!

³then shalt thou hearken from heaven, out of thine established dwelling-place, and shalt be

merciful, and shalt do, and recompense to every man according to his ways, as thou shal t

know his heart, for thou ALONE knowest the heart of all the chi l dren of men (hoti sumonot atos oid as ten k ardi an panton huion anthropon) .´ 1 Kings 8:39 LXX

³When they sin against you²for there is no one who does not sin²and you become angry

with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far

away or near ; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and

repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, µWe have sinned, we have

done wrong, we have acted wickedly¶; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and

soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you

gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your

Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold

their cause. And forgive your peopl e, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses

they have committed a g ainst you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for theyare your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-

smelting furnace.´ 1 Kings 8:46-51

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your

iniquity, who heal s all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you

with steadfast love and mercy," Psalm 103:2-4

³Who is a God l ike you, pardoning iniquity and passing over tr ansgression for the remnant

of his inherit ance? He does not retain his anger for ever because he delights in steadfast love.

He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. You wilt cast

all our sins into the depths of the sea.´ Micah 7:18-19

Thus, by performing the very deeds which God alone performs Jesus is pretty muchdemonstrating that he is God in the flesh (but not the Father or the Holy Spirit).

There are other examples in Mark which show that Jesus is not just omniscient, but

omnipresent and omnipotent as well:

³They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, µWhat were you

arguing about on the road?¶ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about

who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, µIf anyone wants to be

first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.¶´ Mark 9:33-35

Here, Christ already knew what the disciples were discussing among themselves even though

they hadn¶t told him.

The Lord also knew and announced what was going on or would happen in places and

vicinities that he wasn¶t physically present, just as in the following example:

³Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want

anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard



about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at hisfeet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the

demon out of her daughter. µFirst let the children eat all they want,¶ he told her, µfor it is notright to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs.¶" µYes, Lord,¶ she replied, µbut even

the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.¶ Then he told her, µFor such a reply, you

may go; the demon has l eft your d aughter .¶ She went home and found her child lying on the

bed, and the demon gone.´ Mark 7:24-30

In this example Jesus not only had the ability to see what was occurring somewhere else he

even has the power to cast out demons from a great distance, without having to be in the

presence of these unclean spirits to do it!

This leads us to our fourth point. The testimony of the NT as a whole is that Christ is not

simply Divine or human, but he is rather both. Jesus is God who chose to become man

without ceasing to be fully Divine. In his Incarnate state, specifically during his time on earth,

Jesus experienced certain limitations by virtue of his being fully human. And by acquiring

this additional human nature Jesus took to himself a human consciousness along with a

human mind.

Thus, by taking into consideration the entire teaching of the NT the explanation to these

paradoxical statements, i.e. Jesus knows everything while at the same time he could grow in

wisdom and knowledge and be ignorant of certain things, seems to be that in his waking

human consciousness Christ didn¶t know all the things which he knew by virtue of being

God. Jesus would have known much more on a subconscious level than he would in his

waking conscious state.

Hence, Christ not knowing the day or hour may be an example of Jesus not knowing

something in his waking consciousness which in respect to his subconscious mind and

Divinity he would have known fully.

Evangelical Scholars Robert M. Bowman Jr. & J. Ed Komoszewski wonderfully sum up the

Biblical witness concerning the Lord Jesus¶ paradoxical natures:

³As with all the other attributes of the Son of God, there is another side that results in

paradox. We saw that the Son is uncreated and yet became a human being; that he is

immutable and yet grew up from infancy to adulthood; that he is omnipotent and yet

experienced weariness, sleep, and even death; that he is omnipresent and yet walked from

place to place like any ordinary human being. His divine attributes are his by virtue of his

eternal identity as the Son of God; his finite, human limitations are normal human attributes

that he has by virtue of his becoming a man in the Incarnation. A similar paradox pertains to

his omniscience. By virtue of being the divine Son, Jesus was in some sense omniscient,

knowing the hearts of the people around him; yet, by virtue of his incarnation, Jesus alsoexperienced the normal limitations of human knowledge. The New Testament states that thatJesus grew in wisdom (Luke 2:42, 50) and that he µlearned obedience¶ through his sufferings

(Heb. 5:8). Most famously, although Jesus predicted that the destruction of Jerusalem and thetemple would occur within the lifetime of his generation, he denied knowing the day or hour

of the end of the age«

"However we resolve the difficulty of his lack of knowledge of certain matters during hisearthly life, Jesus has no deficiency of knowledge now. The limitations on his knowledge



were aspects of his self-imposed act of humbling himself to share in our mortal human nature(Phil. 2:6-7; 2 Cor. 8:9). Now, following his resurrection and ascension, in Christ µare hidden

all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. « For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily¶ (Col. 2:3, 9).´ (Bowman & Komoszewski, P utt ing Je sus I n H is P l ace: The Ca se F or

The Deity Of Chr ist [Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI 2007], Part 2. Like Father, Like

Son: Jesus Shares the Attributes of God, Chapter 10. He¶s Got What It Takes, pp. 120, 121-

122)

Whatever the explanation may be the fact remains that the Holy Bible teaches BOTH of these

truths simultaneously without bothering to explain how all of this works out. The duty of any

serious student or scholar of the Holy Bible is to take seriously what the Scriptures teach as a

whole, and not simply pick and choose what one likes.

We will have more to say concerning Jesus¶ omniscience shortly.

For those interested in reading more on what Mark¶s Gospel says concerning Jesus¶omniscience, as well as to see the Christology of the Synoptic Gospels, we recommend the

following articles:

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/jesus_omnicient_mark.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/preexistence_synoptics.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/luke_preexistence.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/jesus_walks_on_sea.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/jesus_above_creation.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/christology_evolution2.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_jesus_forgives.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/qsayings.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Shabir-Ally/omnipotent.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_jesus_changing.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_spirit_omniscient.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_omniscience.htm

http://answering-islam.org/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zaatari/sending_prophets.html

Yahweh¶s Self-Imposed Limitations ±

A Precursor of the Incarnation

Interestingly, this self-imposed limitation is not merely a NT phenomenon since we find

Yahweh himself assuming human form and speaking as someone with human limitations

would speak:

³ And YAHWEH a ppeared to hi m by the oaks of M amre, as he sat at the door of his tent in

the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of

hi m. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the

earth, and said, µMy lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. Let

a little water be brought, and wash your feet , and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch

a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on -- since

you have come to your servant.¶ So they said, µDo as you have said.¶ And Abraham hastened

into the tent to Sarah, and said, µMake ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it,



and make cakes.¶ And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave itto the servant, who hastened to prepare it. Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which

he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree whi l e they ate.They said to him, µWhere is Sarah your wife?¶ And he said, µShe is in the tent.¶ YAHWEH

said , µI will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.¶ And

Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced

in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed toherself, saying, µAfter I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?¶

YAHWEH said to Abr aham, µWhy did Sarah laugh, and say, ³Shall I indeed bear a child,

now that I am old?´ Is anything too hard for YAHWEH? At the a ppointed ti me I wi ll return

to you, in the spring, and S ar ah shall have a son.¶ But Sarah denied, saying, µI did not

laugh¶; for she was afraid. He said, µNo, but you did laugh.¶ Then the men set out from there,

and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

YAHWEH said , µShall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham

shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves

by him? No, for I have chosen hi m, that he may charge his children and his household after

him to keep the way of YAHWEH by doing righteousness and justice; so that YAHWEHmay bring to Abraham what he has promised him.¶ T hen YAHWEH said , µBecause the

outcry against Sodom and Gomor'rah is great and their sin is very grave, I wi ll go down tosee whether they have done al together according to the outcry which has come to me; and

if not, I wi ll know.¶ So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abr aham

sti ll stood before YAHWEH . Then Abraham drew near, and said, µWi ll YOU indeed destroy

the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city ; wi ll YOU

then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you

to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the

wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?¶ And YAHWEH

said , µIf I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their

sake.¶´ Genesis 18:1-26

In this particular encounter Yahweh appears to Abraham in the form of a man, eats food like

a man does, and even has human feet which can be washed!

What makes this encounter all the more interesting is that Yahweh specifically tells Abraham

that he needs to personally go down to Sodom and Gommorah in order to verify whether

what he has been told concerning their wickedness is true. It is only then that he will know

for certain!

Now this passage cannot be used to deny God¶s omniscience since Genesis itself shows that

Yahweh knows for certain what will happen beforehand:

³After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, µFear not, Abram, I am

your shield; your reward shall be very great.¶ But Abram said, µO Lord GOD, what will yougive me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Elie'zer of Damascus?¶ And

Abram said, µBehold, you have given me no offspring; and a slave born in my house will be

my heir.¶ And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, µThis man shall not be your heir ;

your own son shall be your heir.¶ And he brought him outside and said, µ Look toward

heaven, and number the st ars, if you are abl e to number them.¶ T hen he said to hi m , µSo

shall your descend ants be.¶ And he believed the LORD; and he reckoned it to him as

righteousness. And he said to him, µI am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the

Chalde'ans, to give you this land to possess.¶ « Then the LORD said to Abram, µ Know for



cert ain that your descend ants wi ll be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and wi ll beslaves there, and they wi ll be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on

the nation which they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And

they shall come back here in the fourth gener ation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not

yet complete.¶´ Genesis 15:1-7, 13-16

³The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the

way to Shur. And he said, µHagar, maid of Sar'ai, where have you come from and where are

you going?¶ She said, µI am fleeing from my mistress Sar'ai.¶ The angel of the LORD said to

her, µReturn to your mistress, and submit to her.¶ The angel of the LORD also said to her, µ I

wi ll so great l y mul tipl y your descend ants that they cannot be numbered for mul titude.¶ And

the angel of the LORD said to her, µBehold, you are with child, and shall bear a son; you shall

call his name Ish'mael; because the LORD has given heed to your affliction. He shall be a

wi l d ass of a man, his hand a g ainst every man and every man's hand a g ainst hi m; and heshall dwell over a g ainst all his kinsmen.¶ So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to

her, µYou are a God of seeing ¶ ; for she said, µ H ave I reall y seen God and remained al ivea fter seeing hi m?¶ Therefore the well was called Beer-la'hai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and

Bered.´ Genesis 16:7-14

³And Joseph saw E'phraim's children of the third generation; the children also of Machir theson of Manas'seh were born upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph said to his brothers, µI am

about to die; but God wi ll visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he

swore to Abr aham , to Isaac, and to J acob.¶ Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel,

saying, µGod wi ll visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.¶´ Genesis 50:23-25

In fact, the very same chapter itself where Yahweh speaks of needing to investigate the

situation in Sodom and Gommorah shows that Yahweh is omniscient:

³The LORD said, µI will surely return to you in the spring, and S

ar ah your wife sh

all have

a son.¶ And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were

old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarahlaughed to herself, saying, µAfter I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have

pleasure?¶ The LORD said to Abraham, µWhy did S ar ah laugh, and say, ³Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?´ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will

return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son.¶ But Sarah denied, saying, µI did notlaugh¶; for she was afraid. He said, µ No, but you did laugh.¶ « The LORD said, µShall I hide

from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abr aham shall become a great and

mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bl ess themsel ves by hi m?¶´ Genesis

18:10-15, 17-18

What Genesis 18 does show, however, is that Yahweh can assume human form andlimitations without ceasing to be God. Yahweh is speaking as a man would, emphasizing theimportance of carefully investigating a manner before passing judgment since in this way a

person will avoid making a rash decision. Yahweh is teaching Abraham to completely trusthim and to know for certain that all his decisions are completely just since he doesn¶t simply

rush into judgment. Abraham will learn that those whom Yahweh completely destroysdeserve it since they have reached the limit of the wickedness which God will put up with

and tolerate.



Hence, this particular OT event anticipates and foreshadows the self-limitations that God willexperience at the Incarnation, during the time when he will actually become human and

thereby take on an additional nature.

To put it simply, if Yahweh in the OT can assume human form and speak as if he were a man

with human limitations without this calling into question his Deity then why should Jesus¶

Divinity be called into question? Why should Jesus becoming a man and taking on a genuinehuman nature with all its limitations call into question his Deity when the NT emphatically

testifies that he was still fully God in nature?

This leads us to our next point, one which affects Zaatari¶s beliefs as a Muslim.

The ignorance and imperfections of Allah ±

A Muslim Dilemma

Even though the Muslims are taught that Allah knows all things the fact is that their very own

scripture contradicts this by admitting that Allah acquires knowledge from the events that

transpire within creation:

If a wound has afflicted you, a wound like it has also afflicted the (unbelieving) people; and

We bring these days to men by turns, and that Allah MAY KNOW those who believe andtake witnesses from among you; and Allah does not love the unjust. And that He may purge

those who believe and deprive the unbelievers of blessings. Do you think that you will enter the garden while Allah has NOT YET KNOWN those who strive hard from among you,

and (He has not) known the patient. S. 3:140-142 Shakir

That which befell you, on the day when the two armies met, was by permission of Allah; that

He MI

GHT KNOW the true believers;A

nd that He MI

GHT KNOW the hypocrites,unto whom it was said: Come, fight in the way of Allah, or defend yourselves. They

answered: If we knew aught of fighting we would follow you. On that day they were nearer

disbelief than faith. They utter with their mouths a thing which is not in their hearts. Allah is

Best Aware of what they hide. S. 3:166-167 Pickthall

Say: ³I know not whether the (Punishment) which ye are promised is near, or whether my

Lord will appoint for it a distant term. He (alone) knows the Unseen, nor does He make any

one acquainted with His Secrets.- Except an messenger whom He has chosen: and then He

makes a band of watchers march before him and behind him, That He MAY KNOW

that they have (truly) brought and delivered the Messages of their Lord : and He

encompasses all that is with them, and takes account of every single thing." S. 72:25-28

The language of these verses are plain and do not need explanation. The reason why Allah

brings about trials and sends watchers is so that he can learn whether those who profess to

believe truly have faith and whether the messengers have delivered his message. In other

words, Allah¶s knowledge is actually increasing with every passing moment and event that

occurs within time and space!

In light of this Zaatari needs to be consistent in the way he applies his criticisms and

acknowledge the fact that Allah cannot be god, or at least fully divine, because he doesn¶t



know all things. His god must test people in order acquire some new information or to learnsomething about their character, and is therefore not an omniscient being.

Now Zaatari cannot appeal to Allah speaking as though he were a man, much like we find in

the case of Yahweh, since none of these texts mention the Islamic deity assuming a human

form in order to communicate with humans. There is nothing within the context to suggest

that Allah is appearing as a man and thereby speaking as a human being so as to illustrate aspecific point. He must accept that his god is ignorant and therefore cannot truly be God.

To read further concerning Allah¶s ignorance and imperfections we suggest the following

discussions and rebuttals:

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/allahs_ignorance.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/intercession_omniscience.html http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/imperfection.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Abualrub/allahs_knowledge.htm http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/changing_allah.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_mercy.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_allah_needs_sinners.htm http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_god_repenting.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/smith_mixed_bag.htm

http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/smith_mixed_bag2.htm

This concludes the first part of our rebuttal. Please continue with the second part.



Jesus Christ ± The Omniscient Lord of Glory! [Part 2]

Sam Shamoun

We resume our response to Zaatari¶s ³rebuttal´ to my thorough refutation. Here we are

going to provide an in-depth look at the passages of John concerning the omniscience of the

Lord Jesus in order to demonstrate that these passages mean what they say.

Examining Jesus¶ Omniscience in light of the Johannine Corpus

According to Zaatari, the following statements:

³His disciples said, µAh, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! Now we know that

you know all things (hoti oid as pant a ), and need none to question you; by this we bel ieve

that you came from God .¶ Jesus answered them, µ Do you now bel ieve?¶´ John 16:30-31

³He said to him the third time, µSimon, son of John, do you love me?¶ Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, µDo you love me?¶ And he said to him, µ Lord, you

know everything (kyrie, pant a su oid as); you know (su ginoskeis ) that I love you.¶ Jesus saidto him, µFeed my sheep.¶´ John 21:17

Do not prove that Jesus is omniscient since the word for all or everything ( pa s) doesn¶t have

to necessarily mean everything or all things.

The problem with such an assertion is that Zaatari ignores the fact that John uses similar

language in describing the knowledge of God:

³By this we shall know that we are of the truth, and reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything (k ai

ginoskei pant a ).´ 1 John 3:19-20

And so does the apocryphal Jewish literature:

³Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? Who

has gone over the sea, and found her, and will buy her for pure gold? No one knows the way

to her, or is concerned about the path to her. But he who knows all things ( alla ho eidos t a

pant a ) knows her, he found her by his understanding.´ Baruch 3:29-32

Thus, if pa s doesn¶t necessarily mean that Jesus knows everything then God doesn¶t know

everything either since the inspired author and certain Jewish sources apply virtually identicallanguage to describe the extent of the knowledge of both God and Christ.

Furthermore, Zaatari failed to take notice of the exact words of Jesus¶ followers who said,

³His disciples said, µAh, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! Now we know that

you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from

God.¶´ John 16:29-30



Not only did the disciples believe that Jesus knew all things they also came to the conclusionthat he didn¶t need to have anyone question him anymore. The point here is that there is no

further need to question Jesus in order to test his knowledge since they are now convincedthat he does know everything.

To put this in another way so Zaatari doesn¶t miss the point, the questions weren¶t asked for

the purpose of learning but to see whether Jesus knew what he was talking about. And sincethey finally came to the realization that Jesus is omniscient it would therefore be futile and

unnecessary to question him any further.

This is similar to the way Jesus questioned the religious authorities,

³Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, µWhat

do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?¶ They said to him, µThe son of David.¶ He saidto them, µHow is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ³The Lord

said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet´? If David thuscalls him Lord, how is he his son?¶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that

day did any one dare to ask him any more questions.´ Matthew 22:41-46

Christ¶s questions served the purpose of exposing the ignorance of his religious opponents.

His interrogation showed the people that those whom they considered to be knowledgeable

concerning the things of God really weren¶t since they didn¶t know the Scriptures.

Hence, by saying that Jesus didn¶t need to be questioned anymore the disciples were simply

reiterating their conviction that Christ was indeed omniscient.

Moreover, there are additional indications in the Gospel which further demonstrate that Jesusactually knew all things. For instance, we are told that Jesus knew all men and knew what is

in a man:

³Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they

saw the signs which he did; but Jesus did not trust himself to them, because he knew all men

(di a to auton ginoskein pant as ) and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he hi msel f

knew what was in man.´ John 2:23-25

Jesus also knew what people were saying or thinking within themselves, as well as knowing

beforehand who truly believed and who didn¶t:

³Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, µThis is a hard saying; who can listen to it?¶

But Jesus, knowing in hi msel f that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, µDo you takeoffense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of M an ascending where he was

before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail ; the words that I have spoken toyou are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.¶ For Jesus knew from

the beginning who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.´

John 6:60-64(1)

In one instance Christ knew a woman¶s personal life in quite some detail:

³Jesus said to her, µGo, call your husband, and come here.¶ The woman answered him, µIhave no husband.¶ Jesus said to her, µYou are right in saying, ³I have no husband´; for you



have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband ; this you saidtruly.¶´ John 4:16-18

He further knew that his friend Lazarus had died even though he wasn¶t physically present at

the location of his death:

³Thus he spoke, and then he said to them, µOur friend Laz ' arus has f all en asl eep, but I go toawake him out of sleep.¶ The disciples said to him, µLord, if he has fallen asleep, he will

recover.¶ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in

sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, µ Laz ' arus is dead ; and for your sake I am glad that I was

not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.¶´ John 11:11-15

Finally, Jesus foretold his betrayal in language reminiscent to the way the OT describes the

knowledge of God:

³Jesus said to him, µHe who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he isclean all over ; and you are clean, but not every one of you.¶ For he knew who was to betr a y

hi m; that was why he said, µYou are not all clean.¶ « µI am not speaking of you all; I know

whom I have chosen (ekel ek amen ); it is that the scripture may be fulfilled, ³He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me. ́I tell you this now, before it t akes place, that when it

does t ake place you ma y bel ieve that I AM HE (hina pisteusete hot an genet ai hoti ego

ei mi ). Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he

who receives me receives him who sent me.¶ When Jesus had thus spoken, he was troubled in

spirit, and testified, µTruly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.¶ The disciples

looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved,

was lying close to the breast of Jesus; so Simon Peter beckoned to him and said, µTell us who

it is of whom he speaks.¶ So lying thus, close to the breast of Jesus, he said to him, µLord,

who is it?¶ Jesus answered, µIt is he to whom I shall give this morsel when I have dipped it.¶

So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after

the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, µWhat you are going to do, do quickly.¶ Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had

the money box, Jesus was telling him, µBuy what we need for the feast¶ ; or, that he shouldgive something to the poor« Simon Peter said to him, µLord, where are you going?¶ Jesus

answered, µWhere I am going you cannot follow me now; but you shall follow afterward.¶Peter said to him, µLord, why cannot I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.¶

Jesus answered, µWill you lay down your life for me? T rul y, trul y, I sa y to you, the cock wi ll not crow, ti ll you have denied me three ti mes.¶´ John 13:10-11, 18-29, 36-38

Compare Jesus¶ words with the following OT text:

³You be my witnesses, and I t oo am a witness, says the Lord God, my servant whom I have

chosen (ekel ek amen): that you ma y know and bel ieve and underst and that I AM HE (hina gnote k ai pisteusete k ai sunete hoti ego ei mi ): before me there was no other God, and after me there shall be none. I am God, and beside me there is no Savior.´ Isaiah 43:9-11

Thus, just like Yahweh chose Israel Jesus chose the disciples. And just like Yahweh¶s

knowledge of the future was meant to show his people that he is the I AM Jesus¶ predictionalso served the purpose of convincing his disciples that he is also the great I AM!



Corroborating Evidence

John isn¶t the only inspired author who testifies that Jesus is omniscient. In the first part of our rebuttal we presented evidence from Mark to show that even the Synoptic Gospels taught

this truth. Here we would like to present some additional proof to demonstrate that this is the

consistent teaching of the entire NT.

The first example comes from the inspired book of Acts:

³In the first book, O The-oph'ilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus (ho Iesous) began to do andteach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the

Holy Spirit to the a post l es whom he had chosen (tois a postol ois « hous ekel ek ato). Tothem he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during

forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he chargedthem not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said,

µyou heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.¶ So when they had come together, they asked him, µ Lord

(kyrie), will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?¶ « In those days Peter stood up

among the brethren (the company of persons was in all about a hundred and twenty), andsaid, µBrethren, the scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by

the mouth of David, concerning Judas who was guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was

numbered among us, and was allotted his share in this ministry. (Now this man bought a field

with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all

his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the

field was called in their language Akel'dama, that is, Field of Blood.) For it is written in the

book of Psalms, ³Let his habitation become desolate, and let there be no one to live in it´; and

³His office let another take.´ So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time

that the Lord Jesus (ho kyrios Iesous) went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism

of John until the day when he was taken up from us -- one of these men must become with us

a witness to his resurrection.¶ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsab'bas, who wassurnamed Justus, and Matthi'as. And they prayed and said, µYou, Lord, who know the hearts

of all men (su kyrie k ardiognost a panton), show which one of these two you have chosen

(ekel ekto) to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to

go to his own place.¶ And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthi'as ; and he wasenrolled with the eleven apostles.´ Acts 1:1-6, 15-26

It is apparent from the context that the Lord whom the disciples prayed to is the Lord Jesus,

the very One who chose them, and whom they were now asking to reveal Judas¶ replacement.

What makes this rather amazing is that the first Christians ± all of whom were Jews ± not

only prayed to the risen Lord they also believed that he knows the hearts of all men!

According to Acts itself this is a knowledge which belongs to God!

³And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, µBrethren, you know thatin the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the

word of the gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart (k ai ho k ardiognostes theos ) bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us;´ Acts 15:7-8

Other NT books agree:



³Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches

the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for thesaints according to the will of God.´ Romans 8:26-27(2)

Hence, the first Jewish Christians worshiped Jesus and acknowledged the he is the Lord who

knows all!

Our next examples come from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, both of which claim that

Jesus knew the thoughts of men¶s hearts:

³But when the Pharisees heard it they said, µIt is only by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons,that this man casts out demons.¶ Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, µEvery kingdom

divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand;¶´Matthew 12:24-25

³On another sabbath, when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose

right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he

would heal on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew

their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, µCome and stand here.¶

And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, µI ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to

do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?¶ And he looked around on them all, and

said to him, µStretch out your hand.¶ And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were

filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.´ Luke 6:6-11

³An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing

the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side,´ Luke 9:46-47

Not only does Jesus know what a person thinks he will even repay and reward every singleindividual for all that s/he has done:

³And to the angel of the church in Thyati'ra write: µT he words of the Son of God , who has

eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your

love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first«

And all the churches shall know that I AM HE (ego ei mi) who searches mind and heart,

and I wi ll give to each of you as your works deserve.¶´ Revelation 2:18-19, 23b

This will take place when the Lord Jesus returns from heaven to gather all the nations to

stand before his judgment seat:

³For the Son of M an is to come with HIS angel s in the glory of HIS F ather , and then he

wi ll repa y every man for what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing herewho will not taste death before they see the Son of M an coming in his kingdom.¶´ Matthew

16:27-28(1)

³When the Son of M an comes in his g l ory, and all the angels with him, then he wi ll sit on

his g l orious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them

one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the

sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. Then the King will say to those at his right

hand, µCome, O blessed of m y F ather , inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the



foundation of the world.¶ « Then he will say to those at his left hand, µDepart from me, youcursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.¶ « And they will go away

into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.´ Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46(1)

³µ Behol d, I am coming soon, bringing m y recom pense, to repa y every one for what he has

done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.¶ «

He who testifies to these things says, µ Surel y I am coming soon.¶ Amen . Come, Lord Jesus!´ Revelation 22:12-13, 20

³I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who

judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes,

who wi ll bring to l ight the things now hidden in d arkness and wi ll discl ose the purposes of

the heart . Then every man will receive his commendation from God.´ 1 Corinthians 4:4-5

³For we must all appear before the judg ment seat of Christ , so that each one may receive

good or evil, according to what he has done in the body. Therefore, knowing the fear of theLord, we persuade men; but what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your

conscience.´ 2 Corinthians 5:10-11

All of the above verses have Jesus doing the very work which the OT ascribes to Yahweh!

After all, it is Yahweh who searches the hearts and minds in order to repay every single

person:

³I the LORD search the mind and try the heart, to give to every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his doings.´ Jeremiah 17:10; cf. 11:20; 29:23; Psalm 62:12; Proverbs

24:12; Isaiah 40:10-11; 62:11

³And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father, and serve him with a whole heart

and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and underst ands every plan and

thought . If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will cast you

off for ever.´ 1 Chronicles 28:9

It is Yahweh who is the only One that knows the thoughts of a man¶s heart:

³then you hear from heaven your dwelling place, and forgive, and render to each whose heart

you know, according to all his ways ( for you, you onl y, know the hearts of the chi l dren of

men);´ 2 Chronicles 6:30

And it is Yahweh who is coming to gather the nations before him in judgment:

³For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and

Jerusalem , I wi ll g ather all the nations and bring them down to the vall ey of Jehosh' a phat,and I wi ll enter into judg ment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage

Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations, and have divided up my land«

Hasten and come, all you nations round about, gather yourselves there. Bring down thy

warriors, O LORD. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of

Jehosh'aphat; for there I wi ll sit to judge all the nations round about .´ Joel 3:11-12

With the foregoing in perspective can there be any doubt that, as far as the witness of the NTis concerned, Jesus is omniscient in the same exact way that God is?



We come to the final part of our rebuttal.

Jesus¶s Prehuman Existence Revisited

Zaatari claims that John 16:25-31 proves his case that the disciples didn¶t believe Jesus:

That was basically it from Shamoun concerning Peter in the Gospel of John. Shamoun did try

to use John 16:25-31 to somehow show that this proved that Peter believed that Jesus wasGod, yet I have ALREADY BEEN QUOTING THAT VERSE TO PROVE THAT THEY

DID NOT BELIEVE THAT JESUS WAS GOD!

The verses state that the disciples believe that Jesus was FROM GOD, not that he WASGOD. Two different things, yes, Jesus was a prophet, so he was from God, he was SENT BY

GOD as he himself testified! So the disciples finally believe he was sent from God, meaninghis prophet.

Zaatari begs the question by once again assuming unitarianism. He assumes that since Jesus

is from God the disciples could not have believed that he was also God. Let us first look at

the passage once again to see what Zaatari has been incapable of adequately addressing:

³I have said this to you in figures; the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you infigures but tell you plainly of the F ather . In that day you wi ll ask in m y name; and I do not

say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the F ather himself loves you, because youhave loved me and have bel ieved that I came from the F ather . I came from the F ather and

have come into the wor l d; a g ain, I am l eaving the wor l d and going to the F ather .´ John16:25-29

There are several points to glean from all of this. First, the God who sent Jesus is the Father.Since Muhammad denied that his god was the Father or a father to anyone (cf. 5:18 ; 19:88-93; 21:26) this means that the disciples were not worshiping the Allah of the Quran.

Second, Jesus says that he came from and would return to the Father, all of which speaks of

his prehuman existence. According to John Jesus is the Son who existed with the Father in

heaven before descending from there:

³For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sentme.´ John 6:38

³and now, Father, you glorify me in your own presence with the glory which I had with you

before the wor l d was made.´ John 17:5; cf. John 3:13, 17; 6:32-33, 35, 41-42, 62; 8:23-24,42, 56-59

Third, this Gospel further testifies that Jesus is both from God and is God:

³In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God [the F ather] , and the Word was

God (in essence, in nature)« And the Word became f l esh and dwelt among us, full of grace

and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the onl y Son from the F ather « No one has



ever seen God ; the onl y Son, who is God , the One who is in the bosom of the F ather , he hasmade him known.´ John 1:1, 14, 18

³Jesus said to her, µDo not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father ; but go to my

brethren and say to them, I am ascending to m y F ather and your Father, to m y God and your

God.¶ « Thomas answered and said to him, µMy Lord and m y God!¶ Jesus said to him,

µHave you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.¶ John 20:17, 28-29

Thus, Jesus is God [the Son] who was sent from God [the Father ] even though there is only

one God (cf. John 5:44; 17:3).

Fourth, this idea of God sending God is not something that the NT came up with but an OT

phenomenon just as the following passage shows:

"Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the LORDof hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you

touches the apple of his eye: µBehold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become

plunder for those who served them. T hen you wi ll know that the LORD of hosts has sent

ME . Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I wi ll dwell in your midst,

declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day , and

shall be MY peopl e . And I wi ll dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent ME to you.¶´ Zechariah 2:7-11

Here Yahweh sends Yahweh to live in the midst of Yahweh¶s people!

Thus, if we allow all of the NT to speak and not rip verses out of context, or force theinspired Scriptures to agree with our presuppositions, then there is absolutely no problem

with God [the Father ] sending God [the Son].

So much for Zaatari¶s ³rebuttal.´ Lord Jesus willing, more rebuttals to follow shortly.

Endnotes

(1) As we had mentioned in the first part our rebuttal Jesus is identifying himself with the

prophet Daniel¶s Son of Man, the One who rules forever and who will be worshiped by allmankind:

³I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the cl ouds of heaven there came one l ike a Son

of M an, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him wasgiven dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages shoul d

serve/worship hi m; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, andhis kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.´ Daniel 7:13-14

What makes this particular Son of Man rather amazing is that he rides the clouds of heaven

like God, he rules like God, and is even worshiped like God! Thus, this Son of Man must be

God appearing as a man even though he is also personally distinct from the Ancient of Dayswho also happens to be God (cf. Dan. 7:9-10, 22, 27)!



Jesus¶ identity as this particular Son of Man helps us to better understand his words in thefollowing passage:

³The Father judges no one, but has given all judg ment to the Son, that all ma y honor the

Son, EVEN AS they honor the F ather . He who does not honor the Son does not honor the

Father who sent him« For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son al so to

have l ife in hi msel f , and has given him authority to execute judg ment, because he is the Sonof M an.´ John 5:22-23, 26-27

Since God¶s Son is the Son of Man he receives the authority to judge which results in

everyone honoring him in the same exact way that they honor the Father.

Moreover, after his resurrection Jesus has been exalted to become Lord over all creation so

that he may receive worship from every creature:

³Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above everyname, that at the name of Jesus every knee shoul d bow, in heaven and on earth and under the

earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord , to the glory of God the Father.´

Philippians 2:9-11

Jesus is being depicted as receiving the very worship that the Son of Man receives and which

the people shall someday render to God himself:

³For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and

made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): µI am theLORD, and there is no other. I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness ; I did not say to

the offspring of Jacob, ³Seek me in chaos.´ I the LORD speak the truth, I declare what isright. Assemble yourselves and come, draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They

have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god thatcannot save. Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together! Who told this

long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no other god besides

me, a righteous God and a S avior ; there is none besides me. Turn to me and be saved, all the

ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, from my

mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: ³T o me every knee shall

bow, every tongue shall swear .´¶´ Isaiah 45:18-23

The following Evangelical scholar helps to put this all together:

³« Clouds often were associated with deity in the ancient world, and this being was no mere

mortal« Another difficulty with the identification of the son of man as the people of God is

that in v. 14 all the nations of the earth are said to µworship¶ the son of man, and Scripture is

clear that God alone is to be worshiped (cf. Rev 19:10). Another indicator of his deity is thatthe clouds accompany the son of man as he descends, and clouds commonly are associated

with deity. Lacocque observes: µOut of a total of about a hundred occurrences in Scripture, in

70% of the cases, clouds refer to Sinai, or to the Temple (see I Kings 8.10-11; 2 Chr. 5.13-14;

2 Macc. 2:8; cf. the vision of the M erkaba in Ezek. 1:4 and 10:3-4), or to eschatological

theophanies (Isa. 4.5; Ps. 97.2; Nahum 1.3).¶ Young seems justified in stating, µThere can be

no question, but that Deity is intended here,¶ and Baldwin remarks, µThe son of man is not

only king, but God, though, as is characteristic of apocalyptic style, this is conveyed in veiled

terms.¶ Verse 14 further reveals that µall¶ humanity will worship the son of man, and µall¶



humanity naturally would include the saints.´ (The New Amer ican C ommentary An Exe g et ical and Theological Exposit ion o f H ol y S cr i pt ure ± Daniel , Stephen R. Miller

[Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994], Volume 18, pp. 207-209)

And:

³According to this verse, God¶s kingdom is µeverlasting¶ and universal. Scripture is clear thatthe One who will rule the kingdom of God and receive worship from all the inhabitants of the

earth is God the Son, Jesus Christ (e.g., Phil 2:9-11), and it is to him that this passage refers.

³Verses 13-14 related that the µson of man¶ will be coronated as the ruler of a great kingdom,

be worshiped by all peoples of the earth, and have an everlasting dominion. Verse 27indicates that the kingdom in question is that of the µMost High.¶ Therefore the Son of Man,

Jesus Christ, is equated with the Most High God.´ (Miller, Daniel , p. 217)

(2) The NT further ascribes this work of searching individuals to the Holy Spirit, who evenknows the very thoughts of God:

³God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the

depths of God . For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is

in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God . Now we

have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might

understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.´ 1 Corinthians 2:10-12

Thus, the Holy Spirit is omniscient just like the Father and the Son.

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jesus christ – the omniscient lord of glory - by sam shamoun

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