Page 1 The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ

Christian Churches of God

No. 243

The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ

(Edition 2.1 19980404-19980822)

Radical Unitarianism denies the non-physical pre-existence of Jesus Christ, claiming his
existence commenced from his birth through Mariam. Binitarianism seeks to assert two
persons to the Godhead. Ditheism asserts the existence of two gods from eternity. Some
people jump from Binitarianism to Ditheism not understanding either doctrine or its origin.
What is the Bible position?

Christian Churches of God

PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA

Email: secretary@ccg.org

(Copyright  1998 Wade Cox)

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This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

Page 1 The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ

The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
The question of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ
is actually divided into two issues. One is the
question of a pre-existence as and with God
before the beginning of all creation. In other
words, the contention is that he was pre-existent
before the spiritual creation. The other aspect is
that of Christ being pre-existent as a spiritual
being before he became human as the
Incarnation. This paper deals with the
proposition that he was pre-existent before the
physical creation but was not the one true God.
The Bible is clear that there was only one True
God and that He sent Jesus Christ (Jn. 17:3). The
Bible also declares that no man has ever seen
Him or ever can see Him, and He dwells in
unapproachable light. He alone is immortal
(1Tim. 6:16) (see the paper On Immortality (No.
165)). This aspect is further examined below. In
this respect, Christ is not pre-existent in the same
way God existed. God was alone in His abiding
perpetuity. Nevertheless, the Bible is equally
specific that Christ had pre-existence as a
spiritual being before the foundation of the earth.
The apostle John wrote of Christ and declared, in
narrative form, his pre-existence. John 1:1 is
rendered by Trinitarians as:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. (KJV)
We know this to be an incorrect translation from
the Peshitta and the way in which the ancient
texts were used. The Peshitta shows that to be so,
even through Lamsa’s translation, which in
trying to conform to the Trinitarian position
renders the text as:
The Word was in the beginning, and that very Word
was with God; and God was that Word.
This shows the different word structure of the
last clause. The Concordant Literal New
Testament shows the actual literal meaning of the
words and their structure from the Greek. The
actual words are in bold; the words supplied for
the English text are in normal type.
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In the beginning was the word and the
word was toward God, and God was the
word. This was in the beginning toward
God.
The text speaks of the relationship and
orientation of devotion of Jesus Christ towards
God. This text continues in John 1:2.
All came into being through it, and apart
from it not even one thing came into being
which has come into being
Thus, the first text here speaks of the logos as the
word. In biblical times they called it the Memra;
logos being a Greek term and memra being the
Hebrew term for the word of God, as it was
understood from the Old Testament.
Radical Unitarians, i.e. those who deny the pre-
existence of Christ beyond Mariam (or Mary)
claim that this was not Christ but a notional form
of the power of God as His divine utterance.
John chapter 1 however, explains this view in
greater detail, which would preclude this
interpretation.
John speaks of John the Baptist (quoting again
from the Concordant Literal New Testament
text) from John 1:6-14.
There came to be a man commissioned by
God His name was John. This one came
for a testimony, that he should be
testifying concerning the light, that all
should be believing through it. Not he’ was
the light, but he came that he should be
testifying concerning the light. It was the
true light - which is enlightening every
man - coming into the world.
In the world, He was, and the world came
into being through Him, and the world
knew Him not. To his own He came, and
those who are His own accepted Him not.
Yet whoever obtained Him, to them he
gives the right to become children of God,
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
to those who are believing in His name,
who were begotten, not of bloods, neither
of the will of the flesh, neither of the will of
a man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and
tabernacles among us, and we gaze at His
glory, a glory as of an only begotten from
the Father, full of grace and truth.
The logos became flesh and tabernacled among
us. We will examine this below.
There is no indefinite article (i.e. a) in the Greek
and it must be deduced and applied. This is the
problem in the text in John 1:1. Many translators
consider it should apply in John 1:1 and translate
it and the word was a God. This view has merit
as we will see from John 1:18 and other texts. In
any case, John 1:1 is incorrect as we see it
normally. The correct translation even if the
word order is preserved involves the concept of
towards and not with as is taught by Trinitarians.
The use here of capitals for Him etc. are
A E Knoch’s additions as the uncials were all
capitals and so no such distinction is really
possible. The text is retained as he translated it.
The Radical Unitarians attempt to place this text
as an example of the notional power of God
becoming flesh rather than a being becoming
flesh. This is the heart of their error.
John the Baptist spoke of Jesus Christ as being
before him. There is another alteration to the
ancient texts in the Greek Receptus or Received
Text of the Reformation, and hence the KJV, as
we see from this next section.
John 1:15-18 John bare witness of him, and cried,
saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh
after me is preferred before me: for he was before
me. 16 And of his fulness have all we received, and
grace for grace. 17 For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man
hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him. (KJV)
John clearly says Christ was before him. Yet
John we know was six months older than Christ
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and it was physically impossible for Christ to
have been before him. Thus, John speaks of a
pre-existence. This pre-existence was as a god,
an elohim, or theoi, as we know from the ancient
texts and was altered in the Receptus. The
Concordant Literal renders the texts as:
John is testifying concerning Him and has
cried, saying, “This was He of Whom I
said, ‘He Who is coming after me, has
come to be in front of me,’ for He was first
before me.” for of that which fills him we
all obtained, and grace for grace. For the
law through Moses was given; grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ. God no
one has ever seen. The only-begotten God,
Who is in the bosom of the Father, He
unfolds Him.
The text here shows the structure of the text
regarding John saying Christ was before him.
The text in John 1:18 is actually monogenes
theos meaning only born God and this is
demonstrated from Marshall’s Greek English
Interlinear. (It is also seen from the Aramaic of
the Peshitta). Dr Hort has written a learned
treatise on the occurrence of this term
monogenes theos (On Monogenes Theos in
Scripture and Tradition; cf. also the paper On
Immortality (No. 165)). There is ample evidence
that the term is correct. It is simply ignored by
mainstream Christianity and the Binitarians who
seek to deny the implications of the text.
Ephesians 3:9 might be used to argue pre-
existence.
Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning
of the world hath been hid in God, who created all
things by Jesus Christ: (KJV, emphasis added)
However, the words by Jesus Christ do not exist
in the ancient texts and are a later insertion in the
KJV from the Receptus and do not appear in
other Bibles (see the note to v. 9 in the
Companion Bible).
Hebrews 1:1 in the KJV makes note of the
creation of the world by Christ also.
Hebrews 1:1-2 God, who at sundry times and in
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us
by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things, by whom also he made the worlds; (KJV,
emphasis added)
In like fashion, this text has also been
mistranslated because the word is aion and
means age not the worlds as the English of the
KJV tries to imply (cf. Companion Bible note to
v. 2). Christ was made a little lower than the
angels, but it was not always so. Hebrews 2:17
shows he was made like his brethren so that he
might be a merciful and faithful high priest.
The Messiah declared his pre-existence also in a
number of texts.
In John 5:37 we see that the Father sent Christ
and Christ declares that no man has seen God or
heard His voice at any time. So, the two
witnesses of John declare that no one has seen
God, yet the term elohim is used of the being that
spoke to the patriarchs and the prophets of the
Old Testament. If this being was not the one true
God, who was it?
We will see that it could only have been Christ,
but it was called consistently and clearly
throughout the Old Testament the Angel of
Yahovah and we will find evidence in the New
Testament of this terminology also.
There is another aspect of being sent that needs
examination.
John 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given
all things into his hands, and that he was come from
God, and went to God; (KJV)
Here the term come from God is argued as being
simply that of being begotten as a zygote in
Mariam’s womb by Radical Unitarians.
Conversely, Binitarians argue it as a form of
separation from the one true God. This view
entered the Christian Church originally as
Modalism, coming from the heathen worship of
the god Attis. The adherents of the worship of
Attis originally held the aspects of Father and
Son to be functions of the one God. This
doctrine was adopted as Modalism in Rome but
it was biblically incoherent and had to be
adapted to become Binitarianism from the
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Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and then
Trinitarianism in 381 CE from Constantinople.
By the third and fourth century the priests of
Attis in Rome were complaining that Christianity
had stolen its doctrines (cf. the paper The
Origins of Christmas and Easter (No. 235)).
John 12:44 shows Christ was sent by God.
John 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on
me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
(KJV)
This implies a dispatch. Radical Unitarians say it
was in a notional sense from the womb. Others
vary the relationship trying to accommodate the
notion of one true God yet maintain the obvious
problematic notion of two beings, one
subordinate to the other. However, John 3:17
shows he was sent into the world by the Father
thus demonstrating pre-existence.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him
might be saved. (KJV)
The notion here of sent needs to be examined in
the Greek. The word is SGD 649 apostello
meaning to set apart or send out on a mission.
The concept of dispatch is also involved and is
the sense in the Concordant Literal New
Testament. The word SGD 3992 pempo is also
involved in the texts meaning to dispatch. The
concept from the usage and forms conveys the
concept to dispatch by orderly motion on a
temporary errand.
This is the concept conveyed in the forms used
concerning the actions of God in the human
field. Christ’s incarnation was a temporary
errand for God in the ongoing plan of salvation.
There are, however, a number of important texts,
which declare the pre-existence of Christ and
explain the relationship. A major example is
Philippians 2:5-7. It is obscured badly in the
KJV for Trinitarian reasons but the RSV appears
to be a more honest translation.
Philippians 2:5-10 Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was
in the form of God, did not count equality with God a
thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8
And being found in human form he humbled himself
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
and became obedient unto death, even death on a
cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name which is above every
name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
(RSV)
The text has express meaning for the text in
Hebrews. This is a clear statement that Christ
was in the form or morphe of God but did not
think equality with God was a thing to be
grasped at, or seized by force, as Satan had tried
to do (cf. Isa. 14:12-14 and Ezek. 28:6-15). He
then humbled (or emptied) himself, became a
human, and suffered death on the stake or cross
(see the paper The Cross: Its Origin and
Significance (No. 39)). This text is a clear
statement of the pre-existence of Christ. Another
clear text is John 17:5.
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with
thine own self with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. (KJV)
Thus, Christ claimed pre-existence in glory
before the world came into being. Thus, he
claimed a pre-existence at least equivalent to the
sons of God present at the creation, as we see
from Job 38:4-7.
Job 38:4-7 Where wast thou when I laid the
foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast
understanding. 5 Who hath laid the measures thereof,
if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon
it? 6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?
or who laid the corner stone thereof; 7 When the
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy? (KJV)
We know Satan is the Light bearer or Morning
Star of the planet and we know Christ is to
succeed him as Morning Star. The texts indicate
he claims pre-existence on a level with these
beings (cf. the paper Lucifer: Light Bearer and
Morning Star (No. 223)).
Christ also said: I saw Satan fall like lightning
from Heaven (Lk. 10:18). Now he either did, or
he did not, see him fall. He had not ascended to
heaven at that time because he was not yet dead,
let alone arisen. Isaiah and Ezekiel record the fall
in their work. Thus if Christ did not have pre-
existence he could not have seen this fall. It
might be argued that it occurred from the trial in
the desert but the OT texts regarding the fall
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itself are in the past tense (cf. Isa. 14:12). This
would rank as fanciful imagination if Christ had
no pre-existence. The concept that this is related
to the King of Babylon as a human, as some
modern apologists are advancing, trivialises the
power of prophecy.
Christ is also identified as Lord of the Sabbath.
The thrust of this text is that he gave us the Law.
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the
sabbath day. (KJV)
From these texts, we see the implications of pre-
existence and a knowledge of the Father.
Matthew 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of
my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the
Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the
Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
(KJV)
This knowledge also implies pre-existence as we
see also from John 17:24.
Christ is identified in the New Testament on a
level with the Morning Stars of the angelic Host
as we see from Acts. In Acts 7, we see that it was
an Angel of the Lord that spoke with Moses and
it was this Angel of the Lord that was with
Moses in the wilderness (Acts 7:30, 35-39).
In this text, Stephen identifies Christ as the
Angel of the Lord at Sinai and with the church in
the wilderness.
The concept of God’s right hand in Exodus 15:6
is that Christ as he acted, is the Old Testament
Angel of Yahovah. We see that Christ sits on
God’s right hand.
The Septuagint of Isaiah 9:6 clearly states he was
the Angel of Great Counsel and the New
Testament applies this text to Christ.
Paul claims he was received as an angel of God
even as Christ Jesus (Gal. 4:14).
Paul clearly states that Christ was in the
wilderness with Israel in the Exodus.
1Corinthians 10:1-4 Moreover, brethren, I would not
that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and
in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and
that Rock was Christ. (KJV)
To suggest that Christ was there only as a notion
in the mind of God, whom no one saw anyway,
trivialises the use of language and metaphor in
the Bible.
Job 33:23-26 refers to the Angel of the One
Thousand who ransoms men from the pit.
Job 33:23-26 If there be a messenger with him, an
interpreter, one among a thousand, to shew unto man
his uprightness: 24 Then he is gracious unto him, and
saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have
found a ransom. 25 His flesh shall be fresher than a
child's: he shall return to the days of his youth: 26 He
shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto
him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will
render unto man his righteousness. (KJV)
Once again, the KJV has been altered in this
sense as it is only Christ who is mediator and
ransom. The RSV is more consistent.
Job 33:23-26 If there be for him an angel, a
mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what
is right for him; 24 and he is gracious to him, and
says, `Deliver him from going down into the Pit, I
have found a ransom; 25 let his flesh become fresh
with youth; let him return to the days of his youthful
vigor'; 26 then man prays to God, and he accepts him,
he comes into his presence with joy. He recounts to
men his salvation, (RSV)
Genesis 48:15-16 also shows the elohim or God
of Jacob was the Angel of Redemption.
Genesis 48:15-16 And he blessed Joseph, and said,
God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did
walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this
day, 16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil,
bless the lads; and let my name be named on them,
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and
let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the
earth. (KJV)
The function of Redemption is the prerogative of
Christ. Messiah is the certain candidate for this
function. Messiah would thus pre-exist as the
Angel of Redemption and the elohim of Jacob or
Israel (cf. Ps. 45:6-7 and Heb. 1:8-9). Whoever
this elohim was it was not Eloah.
In Genesis 7:16, we see that the elohim
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commanded Moses. Also Yahovah shut Noah
and his family in the ark. It was Yahovah elohim
that spoke with Adam in Genesis 3:8.
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 shows that Israel was
allotted by the Most High God to Yahovah as his
portion. This text was altered by rabbinical
Judaism in the Masoretic Text some time after
the first century. The alteration is seen in the
KJV which reads:
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 When the most High divided to
the nations their inheritance, when he separated the
sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people
according to the number of the children of Israel. 9
For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot
of his inheritance. (KJV)
The Septuagint (LXX), Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS)
and the First Epistle of Clement show that it was
originally according to the sons of God, rendered
angels of God in the Greek. The RSV renders the
text on the ancient manuscripts as:
Deuteronomy 32:8-9 When the Most High gave to
the nations their inheritance, when he separated the
sons of men, he fixed the bounds of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God. 9 For the
LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted
heritage. (RSV)
The Lord here from the Hebrew is Yahovah and
he was allotted Israel as his portion by the Most
High God.
We have thus established beyond doubt that the
New Testament holds from the words of Christ
and the apostles from John the Baptist onwards
that Christ was pre-existent. In fact, he said (Jn.
8:58) before Abraham was I Am. This was a
declaration of his pre-existence. It was also taken
to be a declaration of his divinity. Was he God or
was he an angel or was he both? The answer is
that he was both as we shall see. If he was both,
how is that possible?
As we will see the problem lies in the English
and not in the Hebrew. English has only one
word for God. Hebrew has a number of names.
The problem also lies in the theology of the
Trinitarians, which comes from ancient heathen
theology. Also the word angel is simply a word
meaning messenger. He was a son of God of
which there were many who were organised
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
under Morning Stars (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:4-7).
Moreover, we know that some texts are simple
forgeries by the Trinitarians. Examples are
1Timothy 3:16; 1John 5:7; and also the additions
to the early Alpha and Omega texts in the book
of Revelation (cf. the paper Arche of the
Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229)
and the notes to the texts in the Companion
Bible).
We know from the Old Testament that the God
Most High was the one true God. He was called
Yahovah of Hosts. He was known as Eloah.
Thus, Eloah was the singular name for God in
the Hebrew which had no plurality whatsoever.
We know that Eloah, as singular one true God,
was the object of worship in the Temple. From
Job 33:26 we see Eloah was the object of prayer.
This distinction was seen as being very important
in the days of the last restoration under Ezra and
Nehemiah. The Book of Ezra is at pains to show
the function and place of the God of the Bible.
The name of the one true God is Eloah and this
was the name by which he was known when the
Pentateuch was written as Eloah occurs on
multiple occasions in the book of Job. Job was
seemingly written by Moses as perhaps one of
the first books of the Bible.
Proverbs shows that the name of the one true
God is Eloah from Proverbs 30:4-5. It asks a
rhetorical question about the name and makes the
son distinct from this being in the same text. The
name Eloah is supplied in the next verse.
Ezra shows Eloah is the God of the Temple.
From Ezra 4:23 to Ezra 7:26 we are shown the
function and the relationship of God to His
Temple. The Temple is the House of Eloah and
not of Elohim. The elohim ARE the house of
Eloah and this is the purpose and symbolic
representation of the Temple (cf. 1Cor. 3:17).
The prophets prophesied in the name of the
Eloah of Israel (Ezra 5:1). Zerubbabel rose and
built the House of Eloah with the prophets of
Eloah helping him (Ezra 5:2). He is the great
Eloah (Ezra 5:8). He is the Eloah of heaven and
earth and we are his servants (Ezra 5:11). Our
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fathers provoked the Eloah of heaven to wrath
(Ezra 5:12).
The vessels are those of the House of Eloah
(Ezra 5:14), which is in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:15,
17; 6:3). The vessels of Solomon’s Temple were
also those of Eloah and they were taken by
Nebuchadnezzar and restored to the Second
Temple (Ezra 6:5) which was built in its place
(Ezra 6:7). The burnt offerings were made to the
Eloah of heaven by His priests (Ezra 6:9-10).
Eloah has caused His name to dwell there (Ezra
6:12). From Ezra 6:13-22 we see that the House
of Eloah was built to Him. The feast of
Unleavened Bread was kept there to Him and the
priests were set in their division to serve Him as
it was written in the book of Moses (Ezra 6:18).
They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of
the first month (Ezra 6:19). The Law is the Law
of Eloah (Ezra 7:14) and Ezra was a scribe of the
Law of Eloah (Ezra 7:12). The offerings and
requests are also made to Eloah (Ezra 7:14-16).
It is His will, the Will of Eloah that prevails
(Ezra 7:18) as Eloah of heaven (Ezra 7:21). It is
the Eloah of heaven who commands (Ezra 7:23).
The magistrates are set in his name and judge
according to His laws and those who do not obey
let judgment be speedily executed on them (Ezra
7:25-26).
For this reason those who act in his name as his
judges, spiritual or physical, are called elohim
because they are plural as a group acting under
the will of Eloah. It is written: Thou shalt not
revile the gods [elohim] or the ruler of thy
people (Ex. 22:28).
These texts show us the relationship between
Eloah and His elohim. He is Father and they are
all His sons (Job 1:6; 2:1) including Satan. It was
because of this law that Michael would not make
a railing accusation against Satan when
struggling for the body of Moses but said: May
the Lord rebuke you (cf. Jude 9)
The terms father and sons are predicated upon a
relationship where one group springs from the
other, which is singular in its relationship. This
fact was understood by the ancient world. This
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
relationship is one of a family. That is why
Messiah then can be made an everlasting father
from Isaiah 9:6 as the Angel of Great Counsel
(LXX). There are many fatherhoods or families
in heaven and earth (Eph. 3:15). Thus to say the
Bible does not imply God is a family of beings
as elohim is grossly misleading. The entire
structure of the Bible is based on the family
relationship and the entire structure of the law
from the first to the tenth commandments is
based on the Family of God. Have we not all one
Father, did not one God create us all (Mal. 2:10).
The Shema is based on Yahovah Elohenu. God
said and it was given to Moses that: I will be
what I will become (Ex. 3:14 cf. fn. to Oxford
Annotated RSV). Eloah is becoming elohim. He
is becoming all in all (Eph. 4:6). This distinction
was also seen in the Chaldee. Eloah is Elahh in
the Chaldee. Elohim is Elahhin. The term Elahh
became the basis of the Arabic term Allah’h.
This is the fundamental issue at stake in the first
confession of the faith in Islam: There is no
Allah’h [Eloah] but Allah’h [Eloah]. The
elohim, all of them, derive from Eloah who
alone is the Great Eloah of heaven the Elyon or
Most High. The term Allah’h is used in Islam
only because it admits of no plurality
whatsoever, excluding Christ and the elohim
Host from the position of one true God.
The angel of Yahovah was an elohim being
appointed by Eloah. We are all to become
elohim as the Angel of Yahovah at our head
(Zech. 12:8). This fact was understood by the
early church that declared the pre-existence of
Christ and stated that we will become theoi. Paul
said there were many gods or theoi (theoi polloi)
and many Lords, whether in heaven or on earth
(1Cor. 8:5). (This is where the English term the
hoi polloi came from). As the fallen host had all
been confined to earth when Paul said this he
must logically have been speaking about the
loyal Angelic Host. The word theoi is the Greek
plural of the word theos or God. This is the
Eloah/elohim distinction but in the Greek there is
another problem introduced in the grammar.
Thus the definite article or the accusative case
came to be used of God and theos alone was used
of a singular elohim, namely Jesus Christ or
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Satan etc. (cf. Paul refers to Satan as the theos of
this world meaning elohim of this world (2Cor.
4:4). The view that there is a distinction between
the elohim or theos references in the Bible (and
also that we would, all become theoi) was carried
from John to Polycarp, Polycrates and the
disciples to Europe with Irenaeus (cf. the paper
Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127)).
The church understood this concept in the
Reformation and reference is made to this
argument and the so-called Socinians in the
footnote to the 1851 Heydock Commentary to
the Douay Catholic Bible for release in the UK
and the English speaking world generally. Only
the Ha Elohim or the Ho Theos was the one true
God.
It is thus from this singular Eloah that we get the
word elohim. The plural word elohim applied to
a council as we see in the Psalms (cf. the
structure in the Statement of Beliefs of the
Christian Faith (No. A1) CCG, 4th ed., 1996, pp.
2-6,12,27; and also the paper Joshua, the
Messiah, the Son of God (No. 134)).
The Bible is clear that the subordinate elohim of
Psalm 45:6-7 was Jesus Christ (cf. Heb. 1:8-9).
Hosea is clear that this elohim was the angel that
wrestled with Jacob (Hos. 12:3-4). We know also
that this angel is the elohim at the head of the
household of David (Zech. 12:8) (cf. the paper
The Elect as Elohim (No. 1)). We know that he is
called Yahovah and was sent to Israel by
Yahovah of Hosts who is God Most High (cf.
Zech. 2:3-11).
Thus, we have two Yahovahs one of whom is a
subordinate being appointed by the other and
both are elohim. We also see from Zechariah
12:8 that we shall become elohim as we see from
Psalm 82:6. The logic here is straightforward.
There are multiple elohim but one Eloah from
which the word elohim is derived. The word
elohim is clearly held to apply to a being that is
termed the Angel of the Lord who wrestled with
Jacob or the Angel of the Presence who was at
Sinai and who spoke with Moses. The Angel of
the Lord was the elohim who spoke with
Abraham in Genesis 22:1-11.
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
We know also that the term Yahovah was
applied to more than one being as we see from
the greetings from Abraham to the angels who
came to deal with Sodom (Gen. 18:2 ff.). Here
the three beings, rendered as men in the English,
were elohim. The text in the Hebrew actually
says: and lo three men [‘enowshim or mortals]
were standing by him. He ran to them and
addressed them as adoni (Gen. 18:2-3; cf.
Green’s Interlinear Bible). The Bible clearly
identifies these three beings as adoni which is a
term that can be applied to others simply as Lord
(such as from Sarah to Abraham). All were
angels and none of whom were God the Father,
whom no man has ever seen. The original texts
however also show them as being addressed as
Yahovah in Genesis 18:27,30,32 which was three
of the 134 places in the OT where the Sopherim
altered the text to read Adonai.
One of these beings was probably Jesus Christ
but the other two were also divine beings. The
beings are all identified as Yahovah and hence
elohim as we will see and this is deliberately
misidentified by Trinitarians and rabbinical
Judaism in the Masoretic Text (MT) and hence
the KJV to obscure the point.
The entire structure of this Angel of Yahovah is
examined in the paper The Angel of YHVH (No.
24).
The Shema is also misused as it is Shema
Y’isroel Yahovah Elohenu Yahovah Echad. The
word elohenu is rendered and claimed to be
Elohim, again by Trinitarians or Binitarians
based on the same faulty reasoning as found in
the application of the other texts. For the same
reason the ‘echad here is taken to mean united
instead of the ordinal first, meaning alone or
altogether in relation to a number of entities (cf.
Strongs HD No. 259, see also the paper Joshua,
the Messiah, the Son of God (No. 134)).
The Bible is quite clear that there is one true God
who is the God Most High – He is Yahovah of
Hosts referred to also as Yahovih (SHD 3069).
Yahovah is the subordinate elohim of Israel who
is the Angel of the Lord.
Page 9
Elohim is a plural word which is applied to the
sons of God to extend the capacity of being God
to His sons. In this way we become elohim but
we can never be the singular Eloah. There are at
least three beings referred to as Yahovah in the
Old Testament at the same time, and none of
whom was Eloah or God Most High. These three
were also referred to as angels in the destruction
of Sodom. When they were spoken to by
Abraham and Lot, they were also all addressed
as Yahovah and the Sopherim altered the texts in
Genesis 18:27, 30,32 and 19:18, 24 (and 134
places in total) from Yahovah to Adonai to
disguise the fact that there were also multiple
Yahovahs. These angels were identified as
Yahovah and Adonai, and elohim and angels, all
at the same time by the patriarchs and prophets.
Genesis 19:24 shows the term Yahovah being
used in reference to two Yahovahs where the text
says:
Then Yahovah rained upon Sodom and upon
Gomorrah brimstrone and fire from the Yahovah out
of heaven (cf. we from v 13).
The logic of the Bible is simple. There is one
true God and He sent Jesus Christ (Jn. 17:3). The
one true God alone is God. He dwells in
unapproachable light. No man has seen Him or
ever can see Him, or has even heard His voice at
any time (Jn. 1:18; 5:37 1Tim. 6:16). The only
born god (monogenes theos or elohi (cf..
Marshall’s Interlinear and the Aramaic text in
the Peshitta)) declared (or spoke; the word Him
has been added to the English text). It follows
therefore that Christ and the apostles said that no
man has seen or heard Eloah (or Ha Elohim)
ever and that whatever appeared to the prophets
could not have been the being referred to as
Eloah or the one true God.
The being known as Yahovah-elohim, however,
did appear to men and spoke with them from the
Garden of Eden onwards. He also spoke in the
plural to the elohim (cf. The Doctrine of
Original Sin Part I The Garden of Eden (No.
246))
It follows as a matter of irrefutable logic that this
being cannot have been the God Most High
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
(Elyon) or Eloah. The name of this being
Yahovah-elohim also carries this plural concept
elohim. Now unless Moses, the Psalmists, Christ,
John and Paul were complete liars, there must be
multiple elohim. This fact we also know from
the Hebrew texts where elohim is a generic
plural term. These beings were not the one true
God.
It appears beyond dispute that Christ is identified
as the Angel of the Lord or the Angel of the
Presence who spoke with Moses and who gave
the law at Sinai. He also was the angel as elohim
who wrestled with Jacob and saved Hagar as the
God who sees (cf.. Gen. 21:17; Gen. 16:7-13).
He was the Angel of Redemption of Genesis
48:15-16 and the Ransom and Mediator of Job
33:23-26. In like manner, this being was the God
of the House of God or the El Bethel. It is also
beyond dispute that the terms elohim, yahovah
and adonai are plural and apply to multiple
beings who are not the one true God and who are
also described as angels. The logic is also
irrefutable that, if Christ is not one of these
beings, the term applies to even more beings and
not less. It appears, however, impossible for
Christ not to be one of the angels of the Old
Testament on the repetitive testimony of the New
Testament text.
He is sent by Yahovah of Hosts to save Zion.
The angel delivering prophecy to Zechariah says
clearly that he is the one sent by the Lord of
Hosts to redeem Zion and the one sent to the
nations to spoil them. This activity, from
Revelation and the Gospels, vests in Messiah.
This being speaking under orders from the Lord
of Hosts can only be the pre-existent Messiah or
there are two beings given this responsibility
when Revelation seems to allocate it to Messiah.
Similarly the Captain of the Host or Captain of
the Armies of the Lord that spoke with Joshua is
in the position we allot to Christ and the entire
story of the Fall of Jericho relates forward to the
return of the Messiah and the restoration and
subjugation of the nations under Messiah as we
see in the story of Revelation (cf. the paper The
Fall of Jericho (No. 142)).
Christ was thus not only pre-existent, he was and
Page 10
is the elohim or Elohi of Israel, as Yahovah, sent
by Yahovih or Yahovah of Hosts, the Elyon or
God Most High. This being, the one true God, is
Eloah. He is the object of worship of the Temple
as HaElohim or The Elohim or God. Christ is
not the one true God. Only this being, Eloah
(Elahh to the Chaldeans and Allah’h to Islam)
stood alone in abiding perpetuity having nothing
coeval or co-existing with Himself (cf. the paper
Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127)). Ha
Elohim (or The Elohim) was Eloah. He was
Messiah’s God and he appointed Messiah and
anointed him as elohim with the oil of gladness
above his partners (cf. Ps. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9)
and Christ was faithful to the one who made him
(cf. Heb. 3:2 Marshall’s Greek English
Interlinear RSV).
The statement of belief of the early church is
best embodied in this simple Creed of Ulfilas
bishop of the Goths (341-381). These people
held this belief long before Nicaea and this belief
was held by the early church from John to
Irenaeus (cf. Against Heresies ANF vol. 1). It
explains exactly what Thomas said.
The Creed [381] of Ulfilas, Bishop of
the Goths, 341-81
From A, Hahn, Symbole, 3 198
I, Ulfilas, bishop and confessor, have always thus
believed, and in this one and true faith I make my
testament before my Lord: I believe there is one God,
the Father, alone unbegotten and invisible, and I
believe in His Only begotten Son, our Lord and God,
Creator and Maker of the whole creation, not having
any like unto Him-therefore there is one God of all,
who is also God of our God-and in one Holy Spirit,
an enlightening and sanctifying power-(as Christ says
for warning to His Apostles: "Behold, I send the
promise of My Father upon you; but do ye dwell in
the city of Jerusalem until ye be clothed with power
from on high." And again; "And ye shall receive
power coming upon you by the Holy Spirit")-neither
[King, but] subjected and obedient in all things to
[His] God and Father...through Christ ...in the Holy
Spirit.- C.A.A. Scott, Ulfilas, 109
Unfortunately errors were intruding into the faith
even here and Ulfilas seemingly edited the Bible
and removed the book of Kings because it was
too warlike (cf. B. Lehane, Early Celtic
Christianity, Constable London, 1994, p. 176).
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
This creed is based on the theology expressed in
Psalm 45:6-7 and Hebrew 1:8-9. It was held by
the early apologists such as Irenaeus at Lyons in
the second century. This theology was held by
the Goths, Vandals, Alans, Suevi, Heruli,
Britons, Lombards, Germans, and all the
northern tribes commencing from the teachings
of theologians and disciples of the apostles that
were already centuries old before the Council of
Nicaea in 325 CE, where many of these bishops
were present. The heresy of Binitarianism was
commenced from this Council. In 381 the Trinity
was declared at Constantinople from the
theology of the Cappadocians Basil, Gregory of
Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus. The
destruction of the faith by the Greeks and
Romans had begun to take effect. Trinitarians
incorrectly and dishonestly label the creed as
Arianism to give the impression that their
doctrine is older and this doctrine originated with
Arius in the fourth century. The Trinitarians then
alternately label the subordinationist Unitarian
doctrine after Arius (Arianism) and then
Eusebius of Nicomedia (Eusebianism) and other
bishops much senior to Arius (who was not even
present at Nicaea, only being summoned there
for advice on logic), of holding that the Spirit
was a creation of the son when in fact that is the
doctrine of Filioque advanced from the Council
of Toledo by the Catholics themselves in the
sixth century. Even the Greeks rejected that
view. People who label this view as Arian are
either being deliberately dishonest or do not
understand enough to know what they are
saying.
Our people in the church have held this ancient
creed for two thousand years and many have
died for that belief and truth (cf. the paper The
Role of the Fourth Commandment in the
Historical Sabbath-keeping Churches of God
(No. 170)).
We have been attacked and compromised
because of it but never so much as in the
twentieth century. Church after church, in every
instance, at the behest of its ministry, has
compromised the faith without any real
persecution and seemingly for social acceptance.
Page 11
To the church, the pre-existent Christ is not the
One True God. Dr. Samuel Kohn says:
The original doctrine of Sabbatarianism proceeds
from the Jewish and/or Unitarian proclamation of
belief in the one God only:
The first and highest principle of true faith is
That you adhere to one God only (Die Sabbatharier
in Siebenburgen ch.10, p. [77]).
This work has now been translated into English
(see The Sabbatarians of Transylvania, CCG
Publishing 1998), and is recommended reading
to show the history of the church position. The
denial of the doctrine of the pre-existence of
Jesus Christ does not appear to have ever been a
doctrine of the central Sabbath-keeping churches
over the centuries.
Philosophical and logical basis of
the Pre-existence of Christ
The denial of the pre-existence of Christ, as
strange as it may seem, is actually another aspect
of the heathen doctrines of the worship of the
god Attis, in its Binitarian form, where the son is
simply an aspect of the god in apposition to the
aspect as Father. It is simply a modification of
the doctrines, which led to Trinitarianism in the
first place, even though it appears much more
distinctly opposed to it.
The biblical position is that Christ, as one of the
elohim host, emptied himself and returned to
God, who then placed him in a womb in human
form.
Satan and the entire Host could have done this,
but Satan chose to attempt to seize equality with
God instead of being obedient. It became
necessary for Christ to demonstrate the logic of
the plan of God in direct form.
The demons asserted the Trinity from the
beginning, in the worship of the Triune God.
They denied that Christ was other than an aspect
of God, because it was necessary to cover their
own error. The deception is centred round our
own destiny. We are to become elohim as the
angel of Yahovah at our head (Zech 12:8). To
demonstrate this fact, Christ as Angel of
Yahovah, willingly returned to God and assumed
human form at His direction. This act was to also
The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ
demonstrate the way we will return to God, and
be given new form in the Resurrection, yet
remain the same entity in effect. This aspect, by
itself, demonstrates the power of God.
In the same way the demons will be taken down
to the pit and die, and return to God and be
resurrected as human beings in the second
resurrection, where they will be retrained. The
denial of the capacity for the angelic host to be
brought down to the pit and die like any man (cf.
Isa. ch. 14 and Ezek. ch. 28) is a limitation on
the Omnipotence of God. It is a demonic lie. The
Trinity is a lie designed to counter the capacity
of the elect to become elohim or gods as Christ
did. The denial of Christ’s pre-existence is
designed to cover the same lie from the other
point of view, as a demonic plea in the
alternative in the court of human reason. It leads
to Buddhism and modern Process Theology,
where we all as notional aspects in the mind of
God are immortal as God, which is in
everything.
The mechanism by which Christ relinquished his
divine form and became man, is the same
mechanism under the power of God, that we will
be resurrected and become elohim or theoi, in
other words subordinate gods, as sons of the one
true God Eloah.
To deny the pre-existence of Christ is to seek to
deny the capacity of the host to be brought down
Page 12
to the pit and to be resurrected. It seeks to place
Christ on a separate level and effectively deny
the position of humans to become co-heirs with
Christ, and for God to become all in all.
The argument that Christ had to be God to atone
for the sins of men is philosophical nonsense,
based on a linguistic limitation in ancient
classical Greek, which had no word for agape as
the love of God, and borrowed a Hebrew word
(cf. the paper The Purpose of the Creation and
the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160)).
Christ had to demonstrate that he was worthy to
become the High Priest of the Host by his
selfless sacrifice. Christ had to be one of the host
to do this. Men die selflessly for each other all
the time. If Christ was not a pre-existent member
of the Host, then the role would have had to have
been done by another of the host, such as
Gabriel. That was one of the premises on which
Satan was judged by the trial in the wilderness,
after Christ’s baptism.
Christ became a man in the similar process and
sequence as we are to become gods. He came
down, died, was resurrected and went back again
in total obedience through the power of the Holy
Spirit and the Omnipotence and Omniscience of
Almighty God, Eloah, our Father, and one True
God.
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