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To consider oneself "equal" to YHWH is a very serious matter. Y'shua spoke of himself as being about his Father's business, of coming in his Father's Name; he spoke and taught with authority and performed healings which made him a formidable opponent to religious tradition. The charge here of Y'shua making himself equal to YHWH is simply Pharisee tradition projecting itself onto Y'shua.
The Ruach haKodesh in Mashiyach is "equal" to YHWH, but the Pharisees supposed that Y'shua and his followers equated his humanity with YHWH; they didn't understand Isaiah 11:1-2, that Mashiyach has the Ruach haKodesh (another name for YHWH-Psalm 51:1-11, Isaiah 63:1-11) within him.
YHWH spoke through the Spirit of Mashiyach, rather than through his human component! Y'shua maintained that his nefesh (soul) would die, but that YHWH would resurrect it! Y'shua believed his own nefesh was mortal. Zechariah 12:10 the Spirit of YHWH is "pierced" but they mourn for him (Y'shua) as an only begotten son. YHWH cannot literally be "pierced"; therefore, this refers to Mashiyach who has the Spirit of YHWH in him. (From a footnote borrowed from the Aramaic/English New Testament)
While the Catholic and Christian "Jesus" was a Torah-less, usually "blond adonis" who supposedly "abolished the Law," the REAL Yeshua, the "arm of YHWH," was a Torah observant, seventh-day Sabbath and Feast-keeping, kosher JEW who "walked in Torah" according to the commands of His Father. He didn't come to replace YHWH, but to show man who God was, how we were to worship Him, to show us that we are to be Torah observant, and then to die as our Final Sin Sacrifice....
While YHWH has revealed Himself to us in various ways including Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - be assured this in NO WAY suggests that "God is a trinity" as many Christians suggest. We need to remember He has also revealed Himself to man through a burning bush, pillars of cloud and fire, "three men" at the Oaks of Mamre, and He even spoke through a donkey. Also note that YHWH was always referred to in the plural form (i.e, "Elohim", which is the plural of "Eloha"). There are several OT scriptures wherein He refers to Himself as "Us" and "We":
Genesis 1: 26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
When Jews say the "Shema", we say: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One...." The Jewish word for "One" in this instance is "Echad", which is the plural form of "one", such as one dozen eggs, or one bunch of grapes. (One single grape, or one single egg would be referred to as "Yachid".) Echad is ONE, yet referring to a plurality within that one. God always referred to himself as "Echad", thus revealing to us that He is One God consisting of more than one aspect. That reveals that Yeshua is an "aspect" of YHWH - better yet, ARM of YHWH (Isaiah 53:1), and therefore was YHWH-Come-in-the-Flesh.
When He came down to us as a man (so that we could better understand the things of God from a "human" perspective) He had to be called something other than "YHWH", because it would have been blasphemous in our eyes to refer to what we perceived as just another human being as "God". He would have been stoned to death if He had called Himself by the Sacred Name, YHWH. Therefore, He was called Yeshua, which in Hebrew means "Yah is Salvation".
During His three-years of teaching, He revealed exactly Who He was, and He was eventually nailed to the cross/stake for it. This, however, was part of God's grand Plan, because Yeshua was sent to earth not only to teach us about YHWH, but also to be the Final SIN Sacrifice - the One who would offer Himself for mankind so that ALL could be afforded eternal life. Yeshua was foreshadowed in the Tanach (Old Testament) where He was shown to have many names, including Immanuel, which means "God is With Us".
Isaiah 7:14 - "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name [I.e. God is with us] Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6 - For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Through the human body of Yeshua, YHWH revealed Himself to us in the form of a Man, so that we could better understand the things of God from our limited, human mindsets. Yeshua came to teach us all about how YHWH wanted us to live for Him, and how to live with each other, and He also revealed to us that He WAS YHWH in the Flesh. He will be the One to rule and reign during the Millenium (Revelation 20: 1-9).
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