Issued: 6/11/21 Revised: 11/5/23

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   One of the Bible’s most salient characteristics is repetition.  It is argued that Matthew and Luke used Mark as the basis for their Gospels.  Since none of us has a time machine to prove this contention, we conclude that repetition is the means by which the testimony of two or three witnesses establishes truth and settles Scriptural disputes.  Scholars and interpreters of the Bible are like the Greeks of Paul’s time:  Truth is not as important as coming up with novel explanations highlighting intellectual cleverness.  After all, there are tenures in academia to safeguard or strive for, not to mention religious books to write for profit.  To these people, the salvation of souls is as comforting a pipe-dream as Marx’s ‘opium’ of the masses.

   Throughout this series, repetition of same concepts has been ongoing, first because some of them are hard to grasp (2Peter 3:16); secondly, because Scripture is so woven that one thread leads to related others, a device intended as a stumbling block for unbelievers (Isaiah 28:13); and lastly, because we are so enthralled by the siren song of social media that our attention spans waver between soul-saving information and gawking over celebrities’ killer abs.  Not that the faithless are ever going to listen:  That is not going to happen; and we know this from Jesus’ parable in Matthew 21:33-41; from Luke 16:31; from 2Thessalonians 2:3; and Revelation 9:20-21—amongst others.  In repetition we are following the established tradition (Jeremiah 35:15; Acts 26:22); and deviation from this norm has never been an option (Proverbs 30:6; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Matthew 5:19; Acts 26:22; Revelation 22:18-19).

   As we wind up our discussion on the divinity of Jesus, many concepts already mentioned will resurface here; contrary to the adage, Scripture is the good thing we can never have enough of.

Jesus:  Interim God

   As we have discussed, Yahweh Son Angel was appointed proxy God by Yahweh Father and co-ruled from Heaven until his incarnation.  In the New Testament, however, Yahweh Son became known as Jesus; thus for the remainder of our discussion, the Most High God will be called Father and His Son will be called Jesus.

   With his death and resurrection, Jesus assumed an Interim God-ship (Matthew 28:18; Revelation 1:5,18); and we use ‘Interim’ to designate the span of time from his second empowerment to end times [the times allotted to Gentiles (Luke 21:24)].  This allows us to separate this period from Jesus’ previous stint as the Old Testament’s proxy God of Israel [the times allotted to Jews].  From now until the end of Father’s time of grace (Psalms 69:13; Isaiah 49:8↔2Corinthians 6:1-2; Zephaniah 1:2) and wielding Father’s plenipotentiary powers, Jesus wages his spiritual battles from Heaven with his host of angelic and human armies against Satan and his corresponding minions on earth (Daniel 10:13,21; Revelation 12:4,9; Ephesians 6:12).

   This synergy between Father and Jesus was outlined in Psalms 110:1:  “Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet”; which tells us that Father is directing the battle while Jesus is doing the fighting (1Peter 3:22).  Why the “sit by My right hand” bit?  For two reasons:  1) to pinpoint the time when this prophecy would be fulfilled—i.e., after Jesus’ ascent into Heaven, whereupon we are told for the first time that he sat at Father’s right hand [something that was never revealed in the Old Testament regarding Yahweh Father and Yahweh Son]; and 2) to tell us there are two thrones in Heaven and two different Beings sitting on them, the One on the left calling the shots and outranking in God-ship the one sitting to His right.  And who is on the right?  Jesus (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33-34, 7:55-56 [visual confirmation]; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 1:13).  Which tells us what?  That there are two Gods acting as One (John 10:30) controlling world affairs [substance], the same arrangement between Pharaoh as absolute ruler and Joseph as his deputized co-ruler over Egypt [shadow] (Genesis 41:40,44,55↔Deuteronomy 18:15).

   But though Joseph had been given plenipotentiary powers to rule in Pharaoh’s stead, he was not Pharaoh’s equal:  Pharaoh was greater than Joseph with regard to the throne.  Likewise Father is greater than Jesus in absolute authority (John 14:28); so that only Father is in the position to empower Jesus to rule in His stead—a transfer of power recorded in Revelation 5:7 and which Jesus himself admitted to (Matthew 28:18; Revelation 1:18).  Which in turn leads us to Jesus’ further admission that he serves a higher God (Revelation 3:12):  “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more.  I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down out of Heaven from my God (Revelation 21:10), and my own new name [his name-giving messianic role↔Revelation 2:17)].”

   So as it is erroneously believed, is Jesus and Father the same God?  NO.  Jesus serves Father, whereas Father does not acknowledge higher gods than Himself (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5).  And the clincher is in Isaiah 44:6, where Father and Jesus are identified by their Old Testament names:  “This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel [Father], and His Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts [Jesus voicing Father’s statement], says [singular, not plural—one speaker]: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God” [See Revelation 1:5-8, 22:12-13].

   Why is this distinction important?  Because by worshipping Jesus as the Most High God, as most Christians do, Father is not being personally worshipped!  Thus we find Father’s complaint in Hosea 11:7: “For My people are determined to desert Me. They call Me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor Me.”¹  As to Jesus’ beef:  “Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!  Ruin to them, for they have rebelled against me! Though I wished to redeem them, they spoke lies against me” (Hosea 7:13).  What lies?  That he is the Son of God?  That he is the Messiah?  No:  That he and Father are one and the same Deity—which is not what he preached.

   What is at play here?  The loss of our very souls; harsh punishment for believing falsehoods when we have been given the true scoop (Matthew 24:25; John 15:22↔Romans 5:13)?  Pay attention to Jesus’ tone:  Woe to them, ruin to them.  Do Father and Jesus sound like they are pleased with us or that they are ready to unleash Satan against us for swallowing his deceptions despite having been told otherwise?  The latter, according to prophecy, because truth be told, Father called our number when He said:  “My people are fools; they do not know Me.  They are senseless children; they have no understanding.  They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good” (Jeremiah 4:22).  And you know what?  Once human beings embrace the lies, they would rather burn than give them up (Revelation 9:20-21).

   Thus Jesus’ heavy-handed, ruling style during his Interim God-ship:  “You [Jesus] shall break [the nations] with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.  Therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.  Serve Yahweh [Father] with fear [Proverbs 1:7; Ecclesiastes 5:7, 12:13; Matthew 10:28; John 9:31], and rejoice with trembling.  Pay homage to the Son or he will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for his anger may ignite at any moment” (Psalms 2:9-12).  The kid’s gloves are off; because as the Old Testament shows, appeals and entreaties to change sinful ways fall on deaf ears (2Chronicles 36:15-16; Jeremiah 25:5, 32:33).  When the heat is on, people correct their ways; but when things go back to normal, the sty [sic] is the limit (↔2Peter 2:22).

   Where does Satan figure in Jesus’ second God-ship?  As always he is under Jesus’ control; otherwise the world would be a veritable charnel house.  When Father gave Jesus control over all things (Matthew 28:18), that included Satan and his minions, as implied in Revelation 1:18.   A “key” in Scripture is not the object we are familiar with, but it is a symbol of empowerment over someone or something.  Jesus did not give Peter any keys to the so-called ‘pearly gates’; rather he intimated the preaching of followers like Peter had the potential to save or damn the souls of men, because in a spiritual sense, they were Jesus’ stand-ins on earth (Matthew 18:18; Revelation 2:24-27↔albeit figuratively but not literally).  But since Satan had no claim on Jesus (John 14:30), even what would have been his “key” to the pit of hell had to be given him to release his imprisoned angels (2Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6; Revelation 9:1-11).

   How long will Jesus’ Interim God-ship last?  Until the Father decides the day and hour mankind has to make good (Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7); when the proverbial shout, “It is done,” issues forth from the Heavenly throne (Revelation 16:17); the final plagues start; Jesus returns; the Last Judgment takes place; and the redeemed are transported to Heaven for the Millennium.  Only after these events take place will Jesus’ God-ship serve no further purpose; because by then what he was tasked with doing will have been accomplished (Ephesians 1:10, 4:6).  Then and only then will the transfer of power from Jesus to Father be carried out, as Paul explained in 1Corinthians 15:24-28:

“Then comes the end, when [Jesus] hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when [Jesus] has abolished all [human] rule and all authority and power.  For [Jesus] must reign until [Father] has put all of [Jesus’] enemies under his feet [as per Psalms 110:1]…When [Father] says, ‘All things are put in subjection’ [to Jesus], it is evident that [Father] is excepted Who put all things in subjection to [Jesus].  When all things are subjected to [Father through Jesus (Ephesians 1:10)], then the Son himself also will be subjected to the One [Father] Who subjected all things to him, so that God [Father] may be all in all.”

Once he surrenders his Interim God-ship, Jesus will become King/High Priest over Father’s Eternal Kingdom, with the Heavenly Jerusalem as the seat of Father’s power and Presence.  “And I heard a loud voice, which came from the throne, say, ‘[Father’s] dwelling place is among men and He will dwell among them and they shall be His peoples. Yes, [Father] Himself will be among them…I saw no sanctuary in the [Heavenly] City, for [Father], the Ruler of all, is its Sanctuary, and so is the Lamb [Jesus]’” (Revelation 21:3,22)…for the Lamb who is in front of the throne [not on it] will be their Shepherd, and will guide them to water springs of Life, and [Father] will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17).

   These verses are corollaries to the one incontestable fact that [Father] has never ever dwelt in any man-made temple, church, or synagogue (Isaiah 66:1; Acts 17:24); consequently, He had to build His own place of residence, the Temple-less Heavenly Zion (Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 21:22).

   Now, Jesus has earned his right to be King/High Priest of Father’s people; unlike men’s customs, Father is not given to nepotism.  It cost Jesus personal suffering and centuries of overlooked ingratitude and betrayals by men claiming allegiance to him.  Hence his worthiness to assume privileges that no one on Heaven and earth deserved (Revelation 5:3).  And all this not for himself, who could have sat safe and pretty in Heaven while watching Satan churn the world into the hell it has always been.  But because Jesus cared for and loved his creation, their deliverance meant more for him than clinging on to the God-like status he readily cast aside to embrace his redemptive role (Philippians 2:6-7).  And so by enduring his crown of thorns, his scourging, his cross, he “made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father (Revelation 1:6, 5:10); having transformed us by the power of his blood into “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for [Father’s] own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellence of [Father] who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1Peter 2:9).

Jesus:  King/High Priest

   In antiquity there was a tendency to accord sovereign leaders a demigod status:  They were regarded as supreme authorities in matters of both state and religion, if not downright divine.  One wonders whether in the course of Biblical history this concept [shadow]—and many others—lost its intended spiritual significance:  Announcing the attributes of Father’s Son and Messiah, the incarnated Jesus of Nazareth; which would be in keeping with Father’s commitment to reveal His plans and designs to men through His mediator Son (Amos 3:7, 4:13; 1Timothy 2:5).

   It does not take rocket science to see that Jesus fulfills all three categories.  Whether as “Light” or as Mary’s implanted embryo, Jesus’ origin was divine.  And though prophesied King over Father’s new-earth domain (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22↔Revelation 21:1), sovereignty was not the only prize Jesus earned:  He also was to inherit the role of eternal High Priest, according to the Order of Melchizedek (Psalms 110:4↔Hebrews 5:5-6).  As Paul put it, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears [not recorded in any of the Gospels but in Psalms] to the One [Father] Who could save him from death [Jesus could not bring himself back to life], and [Jesus] was heard because of his reverent submission.  Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by [Father] to be High Priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:7-10).

   Melchizedek was that mysterious person in Genesis 14:18-20 to whom Abraham paid tithes.  Genesis 14:18 calls Melchizedek priest of the Most High and king of Salem (Hebrew, “peace”); in Hebrews 7:2, Paul [or rather the Holy Spirit through him] denotes Melchizedek as King of Righteousness and King of Peace (↔Isaiah 9:6).  While this makes Melchizedek, as most significant males in Genesis do, a possible early symbol for Jesus, Paul’s next revelation is puzzling:  “[Melchizedek] is without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3).

   One can understand this from Jesus’ ministry [he was not Joseph’s or Mary’s begotten son], post-resurrection [he became immortal] and out to eternity; but in Abraham’s time, a Melchizedek without parents or genealogy, without beginning nor end of life, could not have been a human being.  While the easy answer would be to assume that this Melchizedek was in fact another of Yahweh Son’s identities, we must not ignore the precedent that never throughout Scripture did Yahweh Son appear as or claim to be someone else than who he was.

    Another problem is the “neither beginning of days nor end of life” claim.  The pre-existent Jesus had had a beginning in time:  He was firstborn on First Day and had a Father [time had started ticking (Psalms 2:7; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14)].  As a human, Jesus also had an end of life:  Three days, or rather, a period of time touching on three days—i.e., Friday afternoon, all of Saturday, and part of Sunday morning—during which he was dead.    So who really was Melchizedek?  As far as we can ascertain, his true nature is as much a mystery as Father’s own; yet though we can never know for certain, the object is not who he was, but what he embodied or, more pointedly, who he was prefiguring.

   As to that, Paul provides a cogent answer:

^“This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life…The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever [immortal post-resurrection].  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to [Father] through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.  For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.  He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself [on the cross].  For the [Mosaic] law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, [New Covenant] which came later than the law [as per Ezekiel 34:23-25, 30-31], appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever…On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness for the [Mosaic] law made nothing perfect; but on the other hand, a better hope [New Covenant] is introduced, through which we draw near to God” (Hebrews 7:15, 23-28, 18-19).

   The overwhelming logic inherent in this system lies in its efficiency and simplicity.  First, the Levitical priests betrayed their commission and doomed Israel by preaching pleasantries and falsehoods instead of recriminations for transgressing God’s laws (Jeremiah 2:8, 8:8; Lamentations 2:14, 4:13; Zephaniah 3:4; Zechariah 10:2-3; Malachi 2:7-8); so the first thing to be done under the New Covenant was to do away with priests altogether (Luke 16:16).  From then on, no human teachers = no more misled followers.  By cutting off all human middlemen, the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus would take over the spiritual instruction of believers (John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:10; 1John 2:27).²

   Under the Mosaic Covenant, remission of sins required at least a yearly trip to Jerusalem and animal sacrifices:  No shedding of blood, no remission of sins (Leviticus 17:3-6, 11; Deuteronomy 12:4-13; Hebrews 9:22).  With the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD, there was no place on earth—and to this day there is not—for Judaism to accomplish either goal.  But Jesus’ death on the cross rendered animal sacrifices superfluous (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12-14, 10:3-4, 13:11-12, Revelation 7:14); while at the same time providing spiritual access, through prayer, to the Holy of Holies in Heaven “by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the veil of his flesh ³ as High Priest over [Father’s house↔whose house we are]”(Hebrews 3:6, 9:11-14, 10:19-22).  Imagine the boon to all the poor, sick and infirm worldwide who could never travel to Jerusalem in order to have their sins forgiven—and be heard directly by Father in Heaven, to boot!

   In short Jesus will be eternal King and High Priest in Father’s earthly City on earth.  And so we come full circle to the issue raised at the beginning of this section.  Was the custom in antiquity of sovereigns being supreme authorities in matters of state and religion patterned after a lost understanding of Jesus’ messianic roles?  After all, as Jude 1:14-15 attests, Enoch was preaching about Jesus very early on. If so, men have never measured up to Jesus’ standards, no matter religious claims of infallibility, God-given royal rights or spurious religious pedigrees.

Related Comments

   It only remains to tidy up some loose ends.  Paul has been accused of having done away with the whole of Mosaic Law.  This is untrue and unfair.  The morality of Christian teaching suffuses and underpins most of Mosaic Law, which is shadow to the substance of the New Covenant mediated through Jesus.  What Paul understood was that ritualistic aspects of Mosaic Law were no longer binding—let alone of any use (Hebrews 7:19, 9:9-10).  Broadly speaking, these rituals were devices meant to instill religious observance in people not spiritually-ready; and we need hardly argue that a ritualized approach to the worship of God—however imperfect—was better than none.  And Yahweh Father was the first to admit this:  “I gave them also statutes that were not good and judgments by which they could not live” [meaning He knew it was impossible to keep all of them (Ezekiel 20:25; Acts 15:10↔James 1:10)].  Contradictory?  No:  To force people to keep striving for reconciliation.

   This lack of spiritual preparedness is what Paul called the “times of ignorance” Father was prepared to overlook (Acts 17:30); so that in essence, some sort of religious observance had to be hammered into the brain of ancient Israelites who, even before entering the promised land, were foreknown to eventually slide into apostasy (Deuteronomy 31:16,20).  Those ‘chosen’ people, were not hand-picked for their superior moral and obedient qualities (Exodus 32:9,34; 33:1-5), but because of their insignificance and powerlessness in the geopolitical stage of the time (Deuteronomy 7:7); and all for one reason:  In order for Yahweh Father to display His might through Yahweh Son’s actions on their behalf .  Israelites steadfastly opposed Father until the nation’s bitter end in 70 AD.

   To be all-inclusive, let us briefly examine aspects of Mosaic religion [shadow] which have their correspondences in Christian teaching [substance]:

1)  Salt:  Animal sacrifices offered to God had to be salted (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19), a ritual superseded by Christians, who are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13).  Obviously, Christian martyrs play a role in sanctifying God’s nation, the exact same thing animals did under Mosaic sacrificial laws; and just as obviously, there is a specific number of such martyrs to be reached (Revelation 6:11).

2)  Oil:  Called oil of anointment (Exodus 25:6; Leviticus 8:30; Numbers 4:16), it was poured over the heads of high priests, their descendants and over Tabernacle furnishings to mark them as holy.  David’s head was anointed with oil and from that day on, the Holy Spirit came upon him (1 Samuel 16:13).  Psalm 89:20 particularly references Jesus:  “I have found David my servant; with My holy oil [the Holy Spirit] have I anointed him.”

   Since King David is the presumed author of Psalms, someone else is here speaking about a symbolic David in third person, presumably Yahweh Father through His speaker, Yahweh Son (see Acts 13:22).  All of this points to Jesus in one way or another.  The composition of the oil included myrrh, one of the gifts given to the baby Jesus by the Magi (Matthew 2:11), surely a hint to his crucifixion; for Mark 15:23 tell us that Jesus was offered wine mixed with myrrh to dull his pain but he did not take it.  The other two gifts—gold and frankincense—incontestably hint to Jesus’ dual roles as King and High Priest of Father’s Kingdom.  This ‘oil’ symbolizes the Holy Spirit in Christianity, which Jesus ‘pours’ over the heads of his followers (John 15:26, 16:23; Acts 2:3-4, 8:15-17, 9:17; 1John 2:20,27) to sanctify them and give them wisdom and guidance.

3) Incense:   Aaron, the High Priest, was instructed to burn incense on the altar twice daily every day in perpetuity (Exodus 30:7-8).  Psalms 141:2 makes a significant addition, “Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice,” clearly equating Mosaic incense with human prayers. In Revelation 5:8, the incense is identified as the “prayers of saints” or “prayers of God’s people,” depending on the translation one chooses.  And the fact that Mosaic incense was always burning on the altar must have informed Paul’s advice “to pray continually…for this is [Father’s] will for you in Christ Jesus  [so as] not to quench the [Holy Spirit]”(1Thessalonians 5:17-19).

   Needless to say, the Heavenly Altar is the repository for the souls of all departed righteous asleep in Jesus awaiting the First Resurrection (Revelation 6:9-11).  Remember this when hearing about dead loved ones urging the newly-departed towards the light at the end of the tunnel; or loved ones looking down from heaven; or sightings of ghosts:  The dead play no role in the affairs of the living (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6).   While no one is denying that these things are being experienced and constantly reported, the fact remains that, since Scripture denies their authenticity, they must be the sort of satanic deceptions Jesus told us to expect (Matthew 24:24).

Closing Words

   Paul did not abrogate the whole of Mosaic Law:  He understood the spiritual meaning of what mattered behind the letter of that Law.  Those who regard him as a turncoat, a pariah for turning his back on Judaism, the inventor of Christianity and the deifier of Jesus do so out of ignorance, envy, and because they miss the forest for the trees.  Paul’s comments regarding the spiritual state of Judaism was as valid in his time as it is today; and they are equally applicable to Christians everywhere, who are now retracing the steps of Jewish apostasy.  Thank Father for His grace, “for it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves.  It is[Father’s]gift… not on grounds of [personal] merit” (Ephesians 2:8).

   If left to our own devices, prejudices, erroneous beliefs, and lamentable tendency to have our cake and eat it too, none of us would be saved.  Many may think themselves paragons of Christian fidelity; but as Job had the good sense to realize, “If I justify myself my own mouth will condemn me; if I say, I am perfect that also will prove me perverse” (Job 9:20—see also Jeremiah 2:35).  Let us not forget that Jesus has already called the bluff of such miscreants:  “Many will tell me in that day, ‘Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many mighty works?’  And then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; be gone from me, doers of wickedness’” (Matthew 7:22-23).To which Paul added, “If a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself ”(Galatians 6:3).

   And so we come to the end of this series of articles on the divinity of Jesus.  While this has not been an exhaustive study by any means, there is enough here to challenge a few misconceptions and hopefully encourage further study.  But the importance of understanding who Father and Jesus are with respect to each other is crucial to our physical safety and spiritual survival.  Be warned:  Father only hears the prayers of those who fear Him and obey Him (John 9:31); and the whole point of Jesus’ mission was to gather for Father human converts who would worship Father—not Jesus— according to His demands (John 4:23-24).

The Hosea verses tell us Father and Son find us wanting; and wanting means being at risk of losing their protection. Let us pay attention to Paul’s warning in Hebrews 12:25, 4:16 respectively: “See to it that you do not ignore the one who is speaking. For if the hearers did not escape when they ignored [Jesus through Moses] who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we turn away from [Jesus] who speaks from heaven!…so let us keep boldly drawing near to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need“—during the Great Tribulation, when even family members may betray us to save their own skins (Matthew 10:21; Mark 13:12).

   Times are coming when access to Scripture might be impossible (Amos 8:12).  Even before a single nail had been driven through his limbs, Jesus hinted at the failure of the Christian experiment (Luke 18:8); and it would get no better at end times:  “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened…For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:22, 24).

   Let us persevere in Bible studying and do what Father expects from us while we can; because as Jesus warned, night is coming when nobody can work (John 9:4). 

¹ Another hatchet job by translators.  Refer to www.biblehub.com for comparisons.

² Christians have done no better, but in point of fact, worse than Jews.  Jews did not have the individual guidance of the Holy Spirit that Christians were guaranteed (John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:10-15).

³  A reference to the veil that separated the holy place from the inner Holy of Holies where Yahweh Son proxy God dwelled, only accessible to high priests in both the desert Tabernacle and the Jerusalem Temple (Exodus 26:33; 16:2).