Who is the Son?
- The First and the Last?
- No God Apart from YHWH
- Whose Name Are We Saved By?
- Does Yeshua Carry the Name?
- Who is the Angel of YHWH?
- The Right Hand of YHWH?
- Yeshua is Worshipped
- Did Yeshua Pre-Exist?
- Is The Son God?
- Other Interesting Verses
Let’s start by asking, who is the Father? Well, there is evidence that YHWH is the Father:
YHWH says to my lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
It seems that the Father is speaking to the Son here, evidently confirmed by Yeshua in Matthew 22:42-45. Let’s look at some more verses:
For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O YHWH, are our father; our Redeemer from of old is your name.
A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is the honor due me? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? says YHWH of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name.
I will tell of the decree of YHWH: He said to me, You are my son; today I have begotten you.
It seems that YHWH is the one who would beget the Son. Is that the full story, though?
The First and the Last?
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last and the Living One. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. It is I, Yeshua, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.
In the first passage it is perhaps not apparent who is speaking, but in the other two it is evidently Yeshua. It seems safe to say that He identifies as “the first and the last”.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called: I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.
Thus says YHWH, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, YHWH of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
When Yeshua calls Himself “the first and the last” in Revelation, He is referring back to these verses in Isaiah, spoken by YHWH.
No God Apart from YHWH
In the previous verse from Isaiah, we also saw YHWH saying “besides me there is no god”, which we have to reconcile with this:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
~ John 1:1
… and this:
Yeshua said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.”
(which reminds us of the meaning of “YHWH”).
See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand.
I am YHWH; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for why should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
Whose Name Are We Saved By?
I, I am YHWH, and besides me there is no savior.
Declare and present your case; take counsel together! Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, YHWH? There is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is no one 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: “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days. [...] And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits hath revealed him to the holy and righteous; For he hath preserved the lot of the righteous, Because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness, And have hated all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits: For in his name they are saved, And according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life.
In the above verse we see that salvation is “in the name of the Lord of Spirits”.
Does Yeshua Carry the Name?
The days are surely coming, says YHWH, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: “YHWH is our righteousness.”
And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ...
The above verse clearly shows us that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all share the name.
Some people don’t like this verse and have suggested that it’s an insertion by Trinitarian Catholics, but there’s no evidence to suggest that. The Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew texts all contain this verse. Actually, in this study we’ve seen numerous examples where the Father and Son seem to share the name of YHWH.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of YHWH, in the majesty of the name of YHWH his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth,
Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of YHWH and the accuser standing at his right hand to accuse him. And YHWH said to the accuser, “YHWH rebuke you, O accuser! YHWH who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?”
I am going to send an angel in front of you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
Who is the Angel of YHWH?
In the previous verse we saw that the angel/messenger (Hebrew: malak) will not pardon transgressions. Scripturally, forgiving sins is associated with God (see for example Daniel 9:9). So who is this malak?
There the angel of YHWH appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” When YHWH saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” [...] Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘YHWH, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.
Now the angel of YHWH came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of YHWH appeared to him and said to him, “YHWH is with you, you mighty warrior.” Gideon answered him, “But sir, if YHWH is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not YHWH bring us up from Egypt?’ But now YHWH has cast us off and given us into the hand of Midian.” Then YHWH turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian; I hereby commission you.”
For he said, “Surely they are my people, children who will not act deceitfully,” and he became their savior in all their distress. It was no messenger or angel but his presence that saved them; in his love and pity it was he who redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.
In the next passage it seems very clear that the angel of YHWH also bears His name:
Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of YHWH and the accuser standing at his right hand to accuse him. And YHWH said to the accuser, “YHWH rebuke you, O accuser! YHWH who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?”
On that day YHWH will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of YHWH, at their head.
He blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys, and in them let my name be perpetuated and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude on the earth.”
The word for God here is “Elohim”, and the word for angel is “malak”.
And on another day, Yochanan and two of his talmidim stood again, looking at Yeshua as he walked, and said, “Behold the Mal’ach [Angel] of YHWH.”
The Right Hand of YHWH?
Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called: I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand at attention.
YHWH has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation [Hebrew: Yeshua] of our God.
Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of YHWH been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
I will bring near my deliverance swiftly; my salvation has gone out, and my arms will rule the peoples; the coastlands wait for me, and for my arm they hope. Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look at the earth beneath, for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and those who live on it will die like gnats, but my salvation [Hebrew: Yeshua] will be forever, and my deliverance will never be ended.
Yeshua is Worshipped
Once when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you one of us or one of our adversaries?” He replied, “Neither, but as commander of the army of YHWH I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and he said to him, “What do you command your servant, my lord?”
We know this isn’t an angel because it is forbidden to worship angels (Revelation 22:8-9, Matthew 4:9-10).
On further investigation, “worship” is probably the wrong translation in this passage from Joshua. We see the same word “shâchâh” used in Genesis 19:1, where Lot “bows” to two angels. I have kept this section for the sake of completeness.
And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Suddenly Yeshua met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Did Yeshua Pre-Exist?
And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, Before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the Lord of Spirits. [...] And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, Before the creation of the world and for evermore.
In the beginning was the Son of Eloah. The Son of El was both with El, and the Son of El was Eloah. This one was in the beginning with El.
So Yeshua said to them, “Truth I say to you that before Avraham existed I, I am!”
Quote from the footnote: “[Yeshua] this time uses a verb from the root ‘היה’ (from which the Name YHWH is formed), hinting even more clearly at the fact that he is YHWH.”
Is The Son God?
In the beginning was the Son of Eloah. The Son of El was both with El, and the Son of El was Eloah. This one was in the beginning with El.
In this way El will come - with [the glory of] his Father with the messengers, and then he will return to every one according to his deeds.
He blessed Joseph and said, “The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys, and in them let my name be perpetuated and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac, and let them grow into a multitude on the earth.”
The word for God here is “Elohim”, and the word for angel is “malak”.
Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity; you love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions
Other Interesting Verses
But Yeshua said to them, “For how much of the time that I abode with you, did you not know me? Philip, whosoever sees me, sees my Father. How do you say that I should show you the Father? Do you not believe that I am as the Father, and the Father is in me? The words which I speak, I do not speak from myself; but the Father, abiding with me, he does the words. Do you not believe that I am he, and that the Father is in me?
Hear, O Israel! YHWH is our God, YHWH is one [echad]!
It is interesting to look at the Strong’s for “echad”. Indeed, it can refer to a unity. We see examples of this in Scripture:
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one [echad] flesh.
Then God said, “Let us make humans in our image, according to our likeness [...]”