SwedishChef,
There is no evidence of a Trinity in Isaiah 44. The rendering you supplied is from the KJV. It should be obvious to the casual reader that something doesn't look right in the phrase "Thus saith the L ORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the L ORD of hosts." The natural inclination of a sincere Bible student is to try to make sense of this. First, he notes that the L ORD is the true King of Israel. But the redeemer - whose redeemer is he? Is he Israel's redeemer or the L ORD 's redeemer? He cannot be the L ORD 's redeemer since he is the L ORD himself. Thus we naturally conclude that he is Israel's redeemer. This makes sense, since Isaiah often in other places identifies the L ORD of Hosts as Israel's Redeemer. (41:14; 43:14; 44:24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7, 26; 54:5, 8; 60:16; 63:16)
In fact, this phrase or something similar is very common in Isaiah:
- "I will help thee, saith the L ORD , and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." (41:14)
- "Thus saith the L ORD , your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." (43:14)
- "As for our redeemer, the L ORD of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel." (47:4)
- "Thus saith the L ORD , thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel." (48:17)
- "Thus saith the L ORD , the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One." (49:7)
- "The L ORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel." (54:5)
So, Trinitarians are in error when they try to make the case that Jehovah the King of Israel is a person different from Jehovah of hosts, Israel's Redeemer. Checking other translations, we get a better rendering. For example, the NASB says at Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says the L ORD , the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the L ORD of hosts."
If they are two separate persons, why are both named Jehovah when the name of the Son of God is Jesus, not Jehovah which is the name of the Father? Furthermore, where is the Holy Spirit in this picture? If there were a suggestion of two different persons, the most this text would indicate is that God is a binitary, not a Trinity.
This One Person who is the God of Israel then proceeds to say, "I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." In other words, Jehovah the Father is the first God; before him there was no Almighty God. And there will be none after him. He will bring to a successful conclusion the issue over Godship, forever vindicated as the one and only Almighty God.
Somehow, SC, you jumped from Isaiah to Zechariah 2:11 with the rest of your text in quotes:
"And many nations shall be joined to the Lord [Jehovah] in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord [Jehovah] of hosts hath sent me unto thee."
I suppose you intended to show that Jehovah is Jesus since Jehovah says to Israel "I will dwell in the midst of thee" and that they would know Jehovah "hath sent" him.
Here, again, a serious Bible student is puzzled at first due to the language. There is no problem in understanding how God would "dwell in the midst of thee," for he often said that in connection with the tabernacle and the temple. (Leviticus 26:2; Deuteronomy 23:14; Psalms 46:5; Isaiah 12:6) But, how could "the L ORD " be "sent" by "the L ORD "? Our understanding opens up when we discover who is actually speaking, as the following breakdown will show.
- Verse 1: Zechariah ["I lifted up mine eyes"]
- Verse 2: Zechariah and "a man" ["Then said I ... and he said unto me"]
- Verse 3: Zechariah ["behold, the angel that talked with me"]
- Verse 4: Zechariah and an angel ["said unto him ... speak to this young man"]
- Verse 5: An angel quoting Jehovah ["For I, saith the L ORD "]
- Verse 6-8: An angel quoting Jehovah ["saith the L ORD "]
- Verse 9: An angel who says "ye shall know that the L ORD of hosts hath sent me."
- Verse 10: And angel quoting Jehovah ["saith the L ORD "]
- Verse 11-13: An angel ["and thou shalt know that the L ORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee"]
So, it is an angel, not Jehovah himself, who says "ye shall know that the L ORD of hosts hath sent me." Seven times in Zechariah, an angel says something like that. (1:10; 2:8, 9, 11; 4:9; 6:15; 7:12) This should also be noted: The angel was not predicting a future time when God would send someone. He was referring to a future realization that God had already sent his angels to Israel:
"Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the L ORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the L ORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest." (1:9-11)
Isaiah 44:24 is self-explanatory. Yes, "there is one independant creator," and he is Israel's L ORD and Redeemer.
I hope this is helpful.
Herk
