Sam Shamoun
We
have now arrived at
the final part of our reply.
Is Adonai used for others besides Yahweh?
Zaatari seems to be aware that the Hebrew Scriptures do
apply the word Adonai for the Messiah, and therefore goes into damage control
mode:
“…Yet even if David called the Messiah adonai it wouldn't
make the Messiah God [sic] because the word adonai is also used for men
as well.”
The problem with this assertion is that it not only goes
against the argument of unitarian heretics such as Anthony Buzzard who argue
that Adonai is always used of God in all of its occurrences,
This verse was referred to the Messiah by the Pharisees and
by Jesus. It tells us that the relationship between God and Jesus is that of
Deity and non-Deity. The Messiah is calledadoni (my lord) and in every one of its 195
occurrences adoni (my lord) means a superior who is not God. Adonai on the other hand refers exclusively
to the One God in all of its 449 occurrences. Adonai is the title of Deity and adoni never designates Deity. (Adonai
and Adoni (Psalm 110:1); bold emphasis ours)
The following information is vital for clear understanding
of Scripture and the all-important issue about who God is and who Jesus is in
relation to God. The divine name YHWH
(probably pronounced Yahweh) is commonly referred to as the tetragrammaton
(four-letter word). Bible translators adopted the practice used in most English
versions of rendering that name as “LORD” in all capital letters (nearly 7,000
times in our Old Testament). This was to distinguish it from Adonai, another Hebrew word
rendered “Lord” (capital L and lower-case letters o-r-d). Adonai means “LORD GOD,” “THE
SUPREME LORD,” AND IS A SYNONYM FOR THE DIVINE NAME YHVH. Wherever the two
names stand together in the Old Testament as a compound name for God, they can
be rendered “Sovereign Lord,” i.e. Lord God, Adonai YHVH (occasionally YHVH
Adonai). (Anthony Buzzard, What is the Difference Between “Lord,” “lord” and “LORD”?;
capital and italic emphasis ours)
It also contradicts the statements of one of Zaatari’s
fellow taqiyyist, Muslim-turned
apostate-turned Muslim-turned apostate again-turned Muslim again Ibn Anwar.
Here is what this deceptive polemicist wrote in response to a Christian named madmanna:
lol….madmanna, you seriously think you have a “rebuttal”
there? There word for “lord” in that verse that you have cited is… (ADONAI)
which is completely different from “adoni”. Whilst “adoni” es[sic]
exclusively a none-deity[sic] type epithet, “adonai” on the other hand is exclusive
use for God AND NONE OTHER. It is evident that you have no clue about
Buzzard’s argument. It does not stem from calling Jesus Lord or what not, but
rather calling him in Hebrew “adoni” which makes him 100% a creation in the
biblical worldview. So much for your rebuttal. (Bold and capital emphasis ours)
So here we have an Islamic dawagandist making the exact
opposite argument and contradicting Zaatari!
This is to be expected from these Muslim apologists since
truth and consistency are not top priorities for them. These folks are more
concerned with attacking the Holy Bible and discrediting the Christian faith in
order to deceive people into abandoning their love and hope in the risen Lord
Jesus in order to follow a false prophet and a capricious and fickle god who
brags about being the best deceiver of them all!
See the following articles for the details:
Allah
– The Greatest Deceiver of them All Allah
as a Deceiver None
Can Feel Safe From Allah’s Schemes
Suffice it to say, Adonai always refers to Yahweh except
for Genesis 19:2 and 18, and even these may not be exceptions since in the
context Adonai is being employed for the two heavenly Messengers sent to
destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Since there are some who take the view that these
two beings were not spirit creatures but specific members of the Godhead then
these texts wouldn’t be seen as exceptions to the consistent usage of Adonai
for Yahweh.
Yet whatever the case may be, the fact remains that the
Lord Jesus Christ is clearly depicted as being Adonai in the same sense as
Yahweh God, and not as a mere creature employed by Yahweh.
The Jews and their beliefs about the
Messiah
As a last act of desperation Zaatari appeals to the belief
of the Jews to undermine the Christian doctrine of the Blessed and Most Holy
Trinity:
“Now another point we have to make is that if this verse
clearly calls the Messiah God, with a capital G, the almighty and powerful God,
why is that no Jewish community ever believed that the Messiah was going to be
God? Why is that everytime anyone does any research on the Jewish belief
concerning the Messiah, we find that they believed the Messiah to be a human,
not a divinity?
“Not only that, why is that no Jewish community believed in
the Trinity either? If this verse is a proof of the Trinity since it says ‘the
lord said to my lord’ then why weren’t there any Jews who looked at this verse
and said ‘ah yes God is obviously a trinity or a binary’?
“Surely if this verse called the Messiah God, and showed a
Trinity, then we would’ve expected to find mass numbers of Jewish communities
preaching such a belief, yet we find nothing of the sort, it’s virtually zero
when we try to find results of this, it doesn’t exist.”
Suffice it to say, these claims are brimming with errors
and logical fallacies.
In the first place, the Jewish religion before, during, and
after the time of Christ was not a monolith but was divided into various groups
and sects, just as we find in both Christianity and Islam.
Secondly, there have been and continue to be Jews who
believe(d) in the Trinity and the Deity of Christ. For instance, with the
exception of Luke-Acts all the NT writings were composed by Jews who affirmed
and proclaimed the absolute Deity of the Messiah and the Triunity of God.
Moreover, Jewish sources such as 1 Enoch, 4 Ezra, the Aramaic Targums, Philio’s
works etc. testify that both before and after the birth of Christ there were
major strands of Judaism that did believe in the prehuman existence of the
Messiah as well as a plurality of divine Persons, such as the divine Memra
(Aramaic for “Word”) of the Targums or Philo’s Logos whom he called a second
God. For more on these vitally important topics we recommend the following
articles and books:
- Is
there an Evolution in NT Christology? [Part
1], [Part
2]
- The
“Heavenly” and “Earthly” Yahweh: Interpreting Genesis 19:24 [Part
1], [Part
2], [Part
3a], [Part
3b], [Part
4]
- The
Malak Yahweh: Jesus, the Divine Messenger of the Old Testament [Part
1], [Part
2], [Part
3a], [Part
3b]
- The
Divine Council
- Alan F.
Segal, “Two
Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and
Gnosticism”.
- Dr.
Michael L. Brown, “Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus,” Volume 2.
- Itzhak Shapira, “Return
of the Kosher Pig”.
Thirdly, if Zaatari is going to be consistent then he has
no choice but to reject Muhammad since the things he taught concerning the
Messiah are inconsistent with Jewish beliefs. In fact, we challenge Zaatari to
cite official Jewish sources that confirm the following Islamic teachings:
The Messiah is the Word of God and his Spirit that shall be
sent down to his mother (cf. Q. 3:45; 4:171).
The Messiah will be miraculously conceived and born to a
virgin maiden (cf. Q. 3:47; 19:19-21).
The Messiah will speak in the cradle as an infant (cf. Q.
3:46; 5:110; 19:27-33).
The Messiah will prophecy the coming of an Arabian prophet
after him named Ahmad (cf. Q. 61:6).
The Messiah will escape the Jewish plot of having him
crucified by making it seem as if they succeeded in killing him by crucifixion
(cf. Q. 4:157).
The Messiah will be taken physically, bodily into the
presence of Allah or God (cf. Q. 3:55; 4:158).
The Messiah will return to judge the world in according
with the legislation of the Quran and forcing everyone to convert to Islam:
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) Sahih
al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number
657)
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said "How will
you be when the son of Mary (i.e. Jesus) descends amongst you and he will judge
people by the Law of the Quran and not by the law of Gospel (Fateh-ul Bari page
304 and 305 Vol 7) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number
658)
The Messiah will then die and be resurrected to face
judgment along with the rest of mankind (cf. Q. 4:159; 5:116-117).
Last but not least, cite references from these hypothetical
Jewish religious authorities, which Zaatari keeps appealing to, stating their
belief that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah whom the prophets said would come
into the world.
If Zaatari cannot support such Islamic beliefs by citing
Jewish authorities (and surely he cannot) then the only honest thing left for
him to do is to reject Islam and become an apostate. If, however, he refuses to
apostatize then he will only be proving that he is inconsistent and has no
regards for truth. His only concern is to attack Christianity, even if this
means he has to adopt inconsistent and dishonest arguments to do so.
Who denies that Jesus is Human?
The final problem with Zaatari’s argument is that even if
he were correct that the word Adoni is only used for human beings this still
wouldn’t prove his case in the least, since it is an essential aspect of the
Christian to affirm that Jesus was (and still is) a an actually human being.
The whole message of the Gospel is that the unique Son of God became a flesh
and blood human being in order to save his people from their sins:
“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His
mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was
found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her
husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send
her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her
is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall
call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ Now
all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall
call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, “God with us.’ And
Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and
took Mary as his wife, but kept
her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”
Matthew 1:18-25
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was in the beginning with God. All things came into being
through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into
being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The
Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… There was the true Light which,
coming into the world,enlightens every man. He was in
the world, and the world was
made through Him, and the world did not know Him… And the Word became flesh, and
dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from
the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-5, 9-10, 14
“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower
than the angels, namely,
Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He
might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are
all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to
perfect the author of their
salvation through sufferings. For
both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all
from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed
to call them brethren… Therefore, since the children
share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same,
that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death,
that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of
death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He
does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore,
He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become
a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins
of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which
He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
Hebrews 2:9-11, 14-18
As such, there is no biblically informed Christian who
would even think of denying that the Messiah is a man, albeit a perfect and
glorified one who now sits enthroned in heaven as King of kings and Lord of
lords (cf. Revelation 1:5-6; 17:14; 19:11-16).
Therefore, the most that the title Adoni proves is that
Jesus is a man, which all Christians accept. It does absolutely nothing to
undermine the clear and explicit biblical witness to his eternal and essential
Deity.
With the foregoing in perspective, we conclude by giving
Zaatari the following advice. It is about time for him to seriously consider
finding another line of work since his attacks against the Christian faith
aren’t cutting it for him. In fact, the more he blasphemes the true God and
perverts his inspired Word, the Holy Bible, the more opportunities he gives us
to expose his rather inept and shallow arguments. And unfortunately for
Zaatari, his articles and debates only end up providing further ammunition for
us to use against him since his materials only end up helping us to expose his
blatant inconsistency and dishonesty.
Zaatari must therefore face reality and come to grips with
the fact that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord of glory and the beloved Son of
God. The sooner he does so the better off he will be since accepting Christ as
Lord and Savior, and believing from the heart that God has raised him from the
dead, is the only hope that he and everyone else have of ever being saved from
the divine wrath to come:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For
God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved
through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who
does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe
also in Me. 2 In
My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have
told you; for I go to prepare
a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And
you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know
where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Jesus said to
him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father
but through Me.” John 14:1-6
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no
other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be
saved.”” Acts 4:12
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that
God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the
heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he
confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:9-10
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for
a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of
our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the
exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
Philippians 3:20-21
“For they themselves report about us what kind of a
reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a
living and true God, and to
wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath
to come.” 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10
“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we
are awake or asleep, we will
live together with Him.” 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
Amen! Come Lord Jesus, come! We confess and acknowledge
that you are our glorious Lord and majestic Savior who shall come from heaven
in order to judge the living and the dead. Amen!
Unless noted otherwise, all scriptural quotations taken
from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).
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