My Torah studies brought me today to The Shema, which remains the pearl–the gem–the beacon that stands out in the whole of the Holy Writ. It certifies that Yehovah is the one and only True God of the universe. It crushes (in my mind) any doctrine that insists that God is a trinity or a binary. The Shema remains Yisra’el’s acclamation that Yehovah is the only one and there is no one other God. Allow me to site various translations of this passage:

ASV Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah:
(Deu 6:4 ASV)
CJB Deuteronomy 6:4 “Sh’ma, Yisra’el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra’el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]; (Deu 6:4 CJB)
DBY Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah;
(Deu 6:4 DBY)
GNV Deuteronomy 6:4 Heare, O Israel, The Lord our God is Lord onely,
(Deu 6:4 GNV)
KJV Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deu 6:4 KJV)
LEE Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel! The Lord, our God, is the One Eternal Being. (Deu 6:4 LEE)
NJB Deuteronomy 6:4 ‘Listen, Israel: Yahweh our God is the one, the only Yahweh. (Deu 6:4 NJB)
YLT Deuteronomy 6:4 ‘Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah;
(Deu 6:4 YLT)

Yet, at times I feel like a lone wolf in the spiritual wilderness when it comes to this issue. Orthodox-traditional-popular Christianity believes fully that God is either a triune or binary entity. Even some Messianics and Hebraic Roots folks contend that Jesus is God of the Old Testament who created all that has ever existed. Indeed, this great spiritual debate has existed for centuries. The primary challenger to the Shema seems to be the Apostle Yochanan who records in his gospel and epistle:

KJV John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Joh 1:1 KJV)
KJV 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (1Jo 1:1 KJV)

Now I do NOT believe that Yochanan believed in the pre-existence and eternal divinity of Yeshua; well not in the sense that Christianity has come to believe and teach. But I’ll touch upon the reasons why I believe Yochanan is saying something entirely different in future writings and audioblogs.

The true identities of the Father and the Son have plagued me for most of my life. Growing up in the Baptist Church, the Trinitarian concept of God was pounded in my head for years. By the time I left home and embarked upon a life of my own, I was a hard and steadfast trinitarian. In my mind there could be no other existence for God. And if by chance a question of the Shema was brought up in a discussion, opposing the godhead, any doubt could be easily explained away by debating the oneness of God from a “substance” perspective; the same approach used by the trinitarian bishops who fought against Arius at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE. And to this day, the vast majority of believers hold to one form or another of a polytheistic godhead. It wasn’t until just a few years ago (about 6-years to be more precise) that I began to question the logic of a godhead comprised of 2 or 3 equal gods, especially when one really reads this passage in Deuteronomy and understands how the Hebrew conceived of Yehovah. I then wondered to myself how the first century saints conceived of Yehovah and Yeshua; did they see Yeshua as every much Yehovah as the Father is considered Yehovah? We know that the first century saints adhered to the Hebraic Roots of the Faith and the teachings of Yeshua HaMaschiyach, so to imagine that these folks conceived of a triune or binary godhead is quite frankly: inconceivable. I consider myself to be of the Hebrew Roots of the Faith, so how can I believe in a godhead? It just doesn’t jive with the tenets of Torah and the Hebraic worldview.

Oh, I get it! Progressive revelation! Quack! I do believe that the Ruach Kodesh reveals certain things to His people through His chosen teachers in His set time throughout the ages. But one must ask one’s self: Does Yehovah change? Well the answer is no (Mal. 3:6). Thus, if the Ruach Kodesh were to reveal things to us that weren’t understood by folks in previous ages, He must do so within the framework of His “changeless” persona. And oh, by the way, don’t bother throwing at me God’s sovereignty and that He can do whatever He choses to do. That is a clever ploy of hasatan that believers for centuries have fallen for lock-stock-and barrel. Yes, Yehovah is sovereign, but He does NOT change nor does He lie! He is NOT a frail human being who would do such a thing. He remains as He has throughout all eternity. If He were to change, let’s say on a whim, then our salvation would be in jeopardy. What would prevent Him from changing His mind about us and condemn us to eternal damnation? Oh, the average Christian would bauk at that prospect I tell you. Yehovah, according to the Christian, can change His mind on anything else but He best not tamper with the Christian’s salvation!

This issue is of such great importance that I am in the process of putting together an audioblog series to address this very issue. I’m certain that I will ruffle some feathers and that is fine. It is an issue that must be addressed and a question that must be answered, otherwise we go on with our spirit lives in darkness and in lies. Have a blessed day in Messiah! Shalom!