The Bible warns us that many false prophets and teachers will arise and will mislead many. In these "end times" many have indeed arisen. Among them are those who have decided, and teach that Yeshua is Messiah but NOT God; such as, for instance, Thomas Shaler of He Shall Govern Ministries whose articles attempt to prove that Yeshua is Messiah but not God. People like Shaler make some very legitimate sounding arguments to back up their misguided statements, and those who are not well grounded in the Bible could be very easily deceived! Luckily, the Bible speaks for itself, and it tells us very clearly that Yeshua IS God Incarnate, as the following article shows:

The word "Elohim" and its use in the Old Testament:

There is a general use of Elohim in reference to God Himself (Exodus 18:11, Psalm 82:6). Both Angels and men are called "Elohim" in special circumstances (Exodus 4:16, Exodus 7:1, Judges 13:22, Psalm 8:5).

We see that the word "Elohim can have a rather broad semantic field: that under some circumstances it can refer to men, angels, or tasks which are filled by men of God. That is to say, from a Torah point of view it would not be wrong to call a person to whom the LORD gave His authority, "Elohim".

Yeshua is "Elohim" on these bases:

• Yeshua has the power to forgive sins (Luke 7:47-49, Mark 2:5,7, Luke 5:20-24, John 5:20-26).
  
  
• Yeshua has the power to control powers of nature (Mark 4:35-41).
  
  
• Yeshua can see into people's hearts and know things that have not been known to others (John 4:29).
  
  
• Isaiah alludes to the Messiah, giving him one of His titles "a mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6)
  
  
• Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28).
  
  
• There are numerous places in the New Testament and in Jewish literature which quote Old Testament passages which in their context refer to God. These passages have a Messianic context and are attributed to Yeshua (Jeremiah 23:5-6, Psalms 45:6, 97:7, 102:25,26, these passages from Psalms being quoted in Hebrews 1).

The divinity of the Messiah is attested in Jewish sources:

• "R. Sh'muel bar Nahmani said in the name of R. Yohanan: "Three are called by the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, and they are: the righteous, the Messiah, and Jerusalem..." (B.Bab.Bath.75b)
  
  
• "What is the name of King Messiah? R. Abba bar Kahana said: 'Lord is his name, for it is written, I will raise unto David a righteous Shoot... In his days Judah shall be saved... And this is the name whereby he shall be called: The Lord our righteousness... In the house of R.Yannai they said: 'Yinnon is his name, for it is written: 'May his name be continued (yinon) as long as the sun' (Psalm 72:17)." Lam.Raba 1:51, p.36, ad Lam. 1:16.
  
  
• "R. Shim'on ben Laqish explained: 'and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the water (Genesis 1:2) - this is the spirit of King Messiah, as it is written, 'And the spirit of the Lord will rest upon him' Isaiah 11:2." Gen.Raba 2:4.
  
  
• In Gen.Raba ch.8, we hear that the Arch-Angels could not distinguish between the original Adam, who was the Messiah, and God himself and they got mixed up and fell down on their faces worshiping the Messiah.

The divinity of Yeshua the Messiah is not contradictory to the Oneness of God. A messenger is equal to the sender. A part can be equal to the whole (consider a cup of sea water and the whole ocean). Midrash Mekilta on Exodus 14:31 says: "And they believed in God and Moses His servant."

The New Testament teaches that there is One God (Mark 12:32, Romans 3:30, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Galatians 3:20, Ephesians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, James 2:19).

Yeshua is never called "our Father" in the New Testament although he is called "Everlasting father" in Isaiah 9:6. In the New Testament, Yeshua always appears beside the Father or with the Father. This does not compromise the dual truth that Yeshua is divine, having the nature, character, mission and capacity of God in every respect, and Yeshua is God manifested in human form. Paul constantly demonstrates this principle (Romans 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:16, Philemon 1:3).

There is both equality and hierarchy between Yeshua and the Father. (John 10:24, 14:28, 1 Corinthians 11:3). The subordination of a faithful messenger has a major part in the role of the Messiah and his Father. In the Book of Revelation Yeshua will finally hand the kingdom back to the Father.

There are unique characteristics of God which appear in Yeshua and which make Him equal to God and a part of the very nature of God and man (Phillipians 2:6-11, Hebrews 5:8, Colossians 1:19, 2:9).

Therefore, the Scriptures say the following about Yeshua:

• Yeshua was preexistent to the creation of the world, and in fact took part in this creation as the Word of God. "Before Abraham I was...
  
  
• Yeshua was with then Father before he became man (Philippians 2:6-11).
  
  
• There is no name in heaven or on earth by which men might be saved except that of Yeshua our Lord (Acts 4:12, John 14:6).
  
  
• Yeshua's sacrifice is the only way available from God for the atonement of sins for both Jews and Gentiles.
  
  
• In an indirect way, and through heavy Greek philosophical terms, John 1:1 does allude to Yeshua as the Word of God which is God, indicating that Yeshua is God (Elohim) in a similar sense as this term is used in the Old Testament.

The practical applications of this teaching are:

• We must make it clear to all, by emphasis and teaching that we believe in One God, the only God (Isaiah 45:5-7). This is the Biblical emphasis throughout both Old and New Testament. No other emphasis needs to be imported and anything less than the teaching on the oneness of God will be confusing and disruptive to our witness.
  
  
• We must make it clear through Jewish literature and the prayer book that Yeshua is the Messiah and Son of God, equal in his task and nature to the full will and council of God Himself. This on the basis of "a messenger who is equal to his sender".
  
  
• Let us put Yeshua as our Lord and general over our daily life and keep His commandments in place of a lot of platitudes about our faith and saved status.
  
  
• Let us strive to understand more of God's nature and give attention to the teachings of Yeshua about Himself and His relationship to the Father and the whole Church.

Yeshua is the Divine Son of God and the Lord of my life whom I strive to serve every day in every way because only in Him do I find eternal life now.

(Reprinted from Tishrei Vol 4 No 2, Son of Man/Son of God, Spring 1996)