Messiah Not God

Is the Messiah God?

Sami Zaatari

According to Sam Shamoun, Islam, and Muslims are in a dilemma:

And by agreeing with the Holy Bible that Jesus is the Messiah the Muslim scripture indirectly and implicitly affirms the absolute Deity of Christ. However, by then making statements which deny Christ's Divinity the Quran is contradicting not only itself but also the inspired testimony of the Scriptures which came before it.

Therefore, Muslims must not only contend with the fact that the Lord Jesus claimed that he was God when he claimed to be the Messiah they must also accept the reality that the Quran cannot be a divinely revealed book since it contradicts God's true Word, the Holy Bible, as well as itself concerning the Divine nature of Christ!

It is clear that the Muslims have major problems to deal with.

RESPONSE

Shamoun contends that the Bible teaches in the divinity of the Messiah, that the Messiah is God, and therefore if Islam affirms that Jesus is the Messiah, it must also mean that Jesus is God, if not, it just contradicts the idea and meaning of the Messiah.

For the sake of argument let us assume the Bible teaches that the Messiah is God, would this mean that an Islamic alternative to the Biblical Messiah puts Muslims in a dilemma? Off course not, one could easily say that the Bible got it wrong, and that the Quran came to correct this false teaching and misunderstanding that was created by some people. Hence there is no dilemma at all. Shamoun himself knows this, but since he is arguing as a biased brainwashed missionary, he doesn't want to even contemplate this alternative, rather he wants to force his interpretation upon us, and if something else is different, it puts the other side in a dilemma, yes how convenient!

Now having said, does the Jewish Bible really teach that the Messiah is God? According to Shamoun it does, so let us see his arguments, and the verses he puts forth and we shall examine whether they stand up to his interpretation. Shamoun's article can be read at the following link:

http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/claim_messiah_deity.html

Shamoun's comments will be in green. He writes:

The inspired OT writings prophecy that God would raise up a King to sit on David's throne and reign forever.

RESPONSE

In other words, God would raise up another God to sit on David's throne! If God is the King that is being raised to rule, and God is the one who is also putting that God on the throne, then you have the case of there being two God's! So Shamoun has already committed polytheism before he has quoted a single verse, good job Shamoun, you have already committed blasphemy.

This Ruler will not only be a human descendant of David he will also be a fully Divine Person, an eternally preexistent Divine figure who embodies the very covenant name of God.

"For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice. From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Isaiah 9:6-7

"Behold, the days are coming,' says the LORD, ?That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (YHWH Tsidkenu)." Jeremiah 23:5-6

"Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth;" Micah 5:1-4

RESPONSE

Shamoun raises three references; we won't have to deal with the first one, Isaiah 9:6-7 as we have already dealt with these sets of verses, readers can visit the article on the following link:

http://muslim-responses.com/Isaiah_Prophecy/Isaiah_Prophecy_

Be sure to also visit the following CHRISTIAN article that respond to Isaiah 9:6:

http://www.biblicalunitarian.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=66

The next reference that Shamoun brings up is Jeremiah 23:5-6, and Shamoun's entire argument is based around the fact that the king shall be named The Lord our Righteousness, as the verse reads:

A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS (YHWH Tsidkenu). Jeremiah 23:5-6

This is why you simply can't trust Shamoun, because he conveniently forgets to remind his readers that this same exact name is also given to the city of Jerusalem! What's worst is that this name is given to Jerusalem in the same BOOK, specifically the book of Jeremiah, as it says:

In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. (Jeremiah 33:16)

So I guess the city of Jerusalem must be God too! The next time any of you plan on visiting Jerusalem, you are actually visiting God himself, not only are you visiting God, you are walking on God!

So what does it mean that the Messiah will be called our Lord our righteousness? This name was a symbolic name, it didn't literally mean that the Messiah was the actual Lord God, had Shamoun given the context of the verses one would get a better understanding of what this meant:

"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD. "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD. "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David ^[a] a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. (Jeremiah 23:1-6)

So this is the context starting from verse one, and as we read, God is rebuking the people who are destroying and scattering his people, his chosen ones, his servants. God vows to destroy these evil people, and then he will help his chosen people by gathering them all together, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.

They will have people over them, who will take care of them, help them, look after them, and they shall no longer be scared, or live in terror, this will be a kingdom of complete peace and security for God's chosen servants. God will do all of this through the king he sends, the Messiah, who will be the one who fulfills this act with the help of God, and as a result of this, the Messiah shall be given the title Our Lord Our Righteousness because God has blessed his people with such an act of specifically sending this Messiah to do this mighty task.

Off course all of this was just ignored by Shamoun who decides to give the narrowest and weakest interpretation.

Shamoun's next reference is Micah 5:1-4, Shamoun's main point of interest comes from the following verse:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2)

Shamoun seems to think that because the Messiah's going forth has been from the old, and from eternity, this makes him God! What this means is that this was part of God's plan! That this plan of sending the Messiah for his chosen people was not something new that he just came up with, rather he had always planned on doing such a thing before the earth was created, before his chosen people had even been born! The Bible says the same thing elsewhere, for instance:

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. (Romans 8:29-30)

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain (Acts 2:23)

So the fact that the Messiah's going forth has been from eternity means that God had always planned on sending the Messiah, in his foreknowledge, it was predestined and determined by God.

Shamoun continues to quote more verses:

These same inspired Scriptures further attest that David's royal Son will be exalted to sit enthroned next to Yahweh's right hand, thereby sharing God's rule forever, and that he will receive the very worship and honor that God himself receives from all the nations:

"Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him." Psalm 72:1, 5, 8-11

"The LORD said to my Lord (Adoni), ?Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" Psalm 110:1

"Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider." Isaiah 52:13-15

RESPONSE

We don't need to deal with Psalm 110:1 as we have already done so in the past, readers can visit the article on the following link:

http://muslim-responses.com/Adoni/Adoni_

So what about the other two references Shamoun brings up, let's start with his first one, which reads:

So let me get this straight, the very fact that the King Messiah shall rule from sea to sea, makes him God? No, that makes him a king, a ruler! And that's what rulers and kings do, they rule and control land! So what about his enemies bowing before him, and his enemies licking dust, does that make him God? No, it makes him a very powerful king! A powerful king with a powerful kingdom which other nations and kings cannot overcome nor fight, rather they are too weak, so they must be humbled before this powerful kingdom and powerful leader! None of this makes the person God, it just makes the person a very powerful leader, and off course Shamoun knows this, but when you're dealing with Trinitarians, everything that's straightforward becomes a supposed doctrine for the Trinity and divinity of Jesus!

Now what Shamoun conveniently left out, as usual, is the very fact that this kingdom, and this king is being GIVEN this honor by God himself, and that this king and kingdom is under God, as the Bible itself testifies:

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was GIVEN him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

So according to the Old Testament the Messiah was GIVEN this kingdom, GIVEN this power, and Jesus himself in the Gospels testifies to this very same fact:

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast GIVEN ME ARE FROM YOU. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me (John 17:6-8)

Not only does Jesus testify to this fact, but so does the supposed disciple John:

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God (John 13:3)

And not only does the disciple teach this, but so does Paul:

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:26-28)

So Shamoun conveniently leaves all of this information out, that this king, Messiah, is being given this power and honor, and this king, and his very kingdom is all under God and subjected to God. More interestingly as Paul mentions, God himself is not under this king Messiah, nor is God subjected or under this king Messiah's kingdom, it's the other way round!

Shamoun's next reference says the following:

Indeed, the Messiah shall be exalted and shall be high, that's why he's the Messiah, that's why is he is a very special man! Now having said that, high and privileged as the Messiah is, he is not as high or as exalted to the level of God, because again, the Bible makes it clear that God had given these things to Jesus, and that Jesus is under God, and God not under Jesus. Furthermore Shamoun quoted Psalms 110:1 which is proof that the Messiah is not as high or exalted as the lord, because the very Psalm says:

"Jehovah said to My lord (Adoni), 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" Psalm 110:1

According to Psalm 110:1 Jehovah tells the Messiah to sit at his right hand, and it is well known that the one sitting on the right hand is not the main top leader, the one who sits on the right hand is known as being subjected to and under the command of the main seated person at hand, furthermore it is also sometimes used as a title of honor. So indeed, the Messiah is exalted, the Messiah is high, but not to the level of God.

More interestingly, notice what Isaiah 52:13 says before it lavishes praise upon the Messiah:

See, MY SERVANT will act wisely

So even before the Messiah is praised, called exalted, and high, it is made known to everybody that this exalted man is a SERVANT of God! And this comes full circle to everything I have been saying, that the Messiah Jesus is under God, and subjected to God, while it isn't the other way round. All Shamoun has done thus far is to establish the honorable position of the Messiah, something Islam itself does:

003.045
YUSUFALI: Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in HONOUR in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those NEAREST to Allah;

And from the hadith:

Bukhari Volume 4, Book 55, Number 657:

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it." Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): -- 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." (4.159) (See Fateh Al Bari, Page 302 Vol 7)

According to Islam, Jesus will return, and will establish the honorable kingdom after he gets rid of the corruption, and this kingdom will have an abundance of wealth, peace, and security, as is told in the Bible.

That was the best Shamoun could provide us with, he provides no other Old Testament text about the Messiah supposedly being God, and as one can see, his attempts were quite futile at best, which makes you laugh when he writes:

Jesus, therefore, claimed to be God when he affirmed to his followers and to those who opposed him that he was the Messiah since the Messiah is supposed to be God according to the OT Scriptures!

RESPONSE

Indeed Shamoun is right when he says the Messiah is supposed to be God in the OT, because Shamoun is a Trinitarian, therefore the text HAS TO conform with his beliefs, not the other way round! Sadly, the reality is that the Messiah in the OT is not God, and Shamoun must now work the other way round, accept this fact, and become a Monotheist instead of a blaspheming pagan polytheist.

So in conclusion Muslims have no major problems to face as Shamoun claimed, the only problem here is for Shamoun, and his fellow Trinitarians who need to twist and turn texts in the Old Testament to make them say what they do not say.

Jesus is the Messiah, the Messiah is not God, and therefore Jesus is not God, come Jesus come, we await your arrival with the Mahdi to establish the kingdom of justice and truth, Amen!

And Allah Knows Best!