Eternal Life (No. 133)

A fundamental step in understanding the Godhead is to understand what is meant by the biblical terms that relate to eternal life.

There are varying terms for eternal life that relate to different entities.

One term that is misunderstood by Christians is that of co-eternal. Namely, it is often said by Christians that Christ and God are co-eternal. Two people can discuss this issue and understand two completely different aspects of the same term.

For example when Trinitarians or Binitarians use the term, they mean that there is an implicit immortality in Jesus Christ such that both Christ and God were present together before the beginning of time. Both Trinitarians and Binitarians hold that God and Christ were immortal. A Unitarian rejects this assertion on biblical grounds. A Unitarian holds that there is only One True God. To have existed before the beginning of time means a being is a True God. To be immortal eternally means a being is a True God. So if Christ is a True God, then there are two True Gods and not one.

Isaiah 43:10-11 deals with the concept of God as beginning and end (see the paper Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229)). It also deals with the concept of His servant whom He has chosen, who is clearly not eternal in the same sense that He is eternal or pre-existent.

Isaiah 43:10-11 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. ¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. (KJV)

Isaiah 43:10-11 "You are my witnesses," says the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. ¹¹ I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior. (RSV)

The word for God here is El. The word for Lord here is Yahovah (of Hosts). There is no other El in any sense before Him and neither will there be after Him. He alone is God and He is our Saviour. The term saviour is applied to Jesus Christ. Therefore Trinitarians become confused with this concept. So they say this one God is both Saviour and God and He is both Father and Son and that there is no distinction. That view led to the concept of Modalism which finally ended up in Trinitarianism. The term Jehovah your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel is found in Isaiah 43:14. This term refers back to Isaiah 41:14. The Soncino translates the text as Fear not thou worm Jacob, And ye men of Israel; I help thee saith the Lord, And Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

The notation says of Redeemer:

The Hebrew gogoëll is a technical term applied to the nearest relative whose duties included the redemption or buying back of the kinsman who sold himself, or sold his property or, if killed, the avenging of his blood by slaying the murderer. It is possibly in this sense applied to God, the Redeemer and Avenger of His people Israel (Abraham Azulai).

The concept that God and the Holy One of Israel are two entities in this text has not been considered. For example Isaiah 41:20 shows the distinction between the concepts of the Lord and the hand of the Lord the Holy One of Israel. The plurality goes on to verse 23 where there is a distinct plurality and there are two entities being discussed.

Isaiah 41:20-23 … that men may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it. ²¹ Set forth your case, says the LORD; bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. ²² Let them bring them, and tell us what is to happen. Tell us the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, that we may know their outcome; or declare to us the things to come. ²³ Tell us what is to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods; do good, or do harm, that we may be dismayed and terrified. (RSV)

The fact that there are two entities present here appears undeniable. The entire text is plural. The use of the term and in fact joins two entities. It does not refer to two attributes of the same person. This is a simple error. The Trinitarians do not want that to be so; the Jews don’t want that to be so. What they do is ignore this text. The text shows that there was no God before or after the God Most High.

Also in the text of Isaiah 43:10-11 we assume that the term and joins two attributes of the same entity. That is, we are addressing an entity that is both witness and servant. The philosophical alternative which is equally applicable is that the conjunction and joins two entities in relationship to the being here as God or El who has no other El before or after Him. That is in fact the way this text was understood by the apostles from the way that they then wrote their works. The Holy One of Israel created, as the hand of the Lord. Thus Messiah created at the will of God (Rev. 4:11).

When Paul wrote his comments in Hebrews he did not get them out of thin air. They came from the OT and this is the text he got them from. The whole Council of the Elders is there before God saying ‘by your will all things exist and were created’. It was by God’s will they exist and were created, but they were created by Christ (with the elohim) as Hebrews chapter 1 tells us. Thus men can understand together that the hand of the Lord is Messiah. The plurality in Isaiah 41:22-23 is complete and unambiguous. My servant whom I have chosen is taken as a reference to Israel as Jacob from Isaiah 41:8-9.

Isaiah 41:8-9 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; ⁹ you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; (RSV)

From Genesis 49:24, from Joseph comes the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. The fruitfulness rests in Ephraim (Joseph), not in Manasseh. Manasseh means to forget and Ephraim means to be fruitful. The Soncino notes the rabbinical understanding: Rashi makes Joseph the Shepherd and the Stone; Rashbam and ibn Ezra allegedly agree with the American Jewish translation but make Joseph the Shepherd (distinct from the Stone of Israel). Thus the Stone of Israel here is not Messiah who is of Judah, or else Joseph takes control and pre-eminence over Judah. The alternative is that the God of Israel is the origin of the Stone which makes him subordinate. Jacob told Joseph that his redeemer was an angel (who was Messiah) from his blessing in Genesis 48:15-16. Jacob’s elohim from this text is an angel.

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, ¹⁶The 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 application of Redeemer and Holy One of Israel to Messiah is seen as being one who lays down his position at the behest of the One True God. This position is that taken up by both Paul in 1Timothy 6 and John in John 1 and 1John. Thus salvation is an activity of Christ but under the direction of God. Salvation thus vests in Christ as an instrument of God.

That concept is most important. Salvation only exists in Christ as an instrument of God. God is our Saviour, not Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ acted as our Saviour as an instrument of and under the power of the One True God. Salvation rests in Messiah, who is our saviour, but by direction of God. All things vest in the power of the One True God. That is where Trinitarians completely miss the boat. They say the Lord Jesus Christ is the saviour in the NT; God is our Saviour in the OT, therefore Jesus Christ is the God of the OT. Therefore, God is a trinity because it covers the Father, Son and Holy Ghost and it is quite clear that the God of the OT was in fact the Father.

Binitarians (and Ditheists) have tried to get around that by saying the Father was not known in the OT; the OT God was Jesus Christ. That way the God of the OT is the Saviour, Jesus Christ is the Saviour, and therefore there is no conflict (see the paper God Our Saviour (No. 198)).

God is our Rock, yet Jesus Christ is also the stone, the rock uncut by human hands that destroys the civilisations of the world. God is the Rock upon which all the living stones are placed. Everything stems from the power and authority of God, even eternal life itself. Only God is immortal.

The Bible says at 1Timothy 6:12-16:

Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; and this will be made manifest at the proper time by the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To him be honour and eternal dominion. Amen.

Christ Jesus is quite distinct here from God who gives life to all things. God gave life to Christ Jesus. Trinitarians seek to deny that fact. If God gave life to Christ Jesus then the soul doctrine is a myth and they will surely die. They want to keep the Satanic pledge ‘and you will not surely die’. Eternal life, whether in Christ or anybody else, is totally dependant upon the Father who alone is immortal.

Paul is quite clearly making the distinction between God and Christ here. He is saying that God alone has immortality. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. No man has seen this entity who is clearly identified as God by John at John 1:18

Theon oudeis eooraken poopote monogenes theos

God no man has seen never; [the] only begotten [onlyborn] god

o oon eis ton kolpon tou patros ekeinos ezegesato

the [one] being in the bosom of the Father, that one declared. [?him] has been added to the text.

The intent is in fact that Christ was the God who spoke, the Ho Legon of the Greeks (see Marshall Greek-English Interlinear for Greek text and translation).

The Received Text inserts the Greek uios or son instead of theos but the text was understood anciently as theos and was argued in this context in the early councils. Modern scholars generally agree that the word used is in fact god and not son. 1John 4:12 holds also that no man has seen God.

No man has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and [H]is love is perfected in us.

John is quite clear from this text and the preceding texts that God and Christ are distinct and separate Beings. He sent His son to be the expiation for our sins (1Jn. 4:10). Jesus Christ therefore derives the title of King of kings and Lord of lords at Revelation 17:14 and Revelation 19:16 (where it is inscribed on his robe and his thigh) by allocation from God Almighty who allocates him to tread the winepress of His wrath.

Furthermore, from 1Timothy 6:12-16, we are seen as also having eternal life, being called and chosen and faithful (Rev. 17:14). Each of these titles is a prerequisite to being with Christ at his return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. An individual must not only be called, but also he/she must be chosen, being predestined by God.

Romans 8:29-30 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Thus the aspects of immortality and eternal life are inherent in the Father and allocated to the Sons of God who were and are plural (Gen. 6:2,4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:4-7; Hos. 1:10; Rom. 8:14,19; Gal. 4:5-6; Phil. 2:15; Heb. 12:7; 1Jn. 3:1-2). Many are called but few are chosen (Mat. 20:16; 22:14); for they are chosen, as Christ was the chosen of God (Lk. 23:35).

For Christ to be the chosen of God, he had to be selected from something. If there was only one Son of God to select from, then Christ could not be the chosen of God. He had to be selected, appointed and sent here and qualify and advance.

The elect were chosen by Christ (Jn. 6:70, 15:16,19) under direction of God (1Pet. 2:4) who appointed them through the Holy Spirit (Acts 22:14). These were the weak and foolish things of the world (1Cor. 1:27), the poor in the world, called to be rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him (Jas. 2:5). In this sense the Kingdom is among the elect but it is not yet here, coming finally with the return of the Messiah (Rev. 20:4-6). In this sense we are a chosen generation and precious (1Pet. 2:4,9). The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him (Eph. 1:4).

Thus the God and Father of Christ chose and allocated Christ to eternal life (Jn. 5:26), giving him authority to lay it aside and take it up again (Jn. 10:18).

John 5:26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.

It can’t be clearer that Christ does not have life in himself without authority of the Father. Therefore, Christ is not a co-eternal being with the Father. The real reason people do not want to address this is that it throws them back on obedience. To have eternal life we have to be obedient as Christ was obedient, even unto death. Nobody wants to be obedient. That’s why they want a soul and why they want eternal life unconditionally, without allocation by God. They want to have intrinsically the right to eternal life. However, they do not have it intrinsically. Nor does Christ have eternal life intrinsically, except by obedience to the Father. That’s why nobody wants to say Christ is created, because if Christ is created where do we stand? Christ stands purely on his obedience and righteousness. Everybody knows that they are not righteous, so they do not want to throw themselves on the grace and obedience of God. That’s the real issue.

The prerequisite to the receipt of eternal life is to understand exactly who God is and whom it is that we worship.

John 17:1-3 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, 'Father, the hour has come: glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, ²since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

Thus the requirement to inherit eternal life is to be able to distinguish between the Only True God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent and to know them both. Thus Trinitarianism or Binitarianism disqualifies one from the receipt of eternal life. Hence conscious Trinitarians or Binitarians would be consigned to the second resurrection to be retrained. It is critical therefore that the elect do not misunderstand or fail in this matter. That of course does not mean that all within a Binitarian Church would automatically be consigned to the second resurrection. The understanding of the elect and their relationship with the One True God and Christ is often superior to the ministry that serves them. The ability to inherit eternal life is also predicated upon the keeping the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. These people are described in Revelation 12:17; 14:12; 22:14.

Revelation 12:17 Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea. (RSV)

Revelation 14:12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. (RSV)

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. (RSV)

The RSV uses the text as per Nestles Greek text and translates that literally, save for the word right which is in fact ezousia, or authority over the tree of life, so that they may enter the city by its gates. These gates are the twelve tribes of Israel under the apostles. The KJV uses the term commandments from the Receptus which has the term Makarioi oi poiountes tas entolas autou, ina estai e ezousia autoon epi to zulontes zooes. This is literally Blessed (are) those doing the Commandments of Him, that will be the authority of them over the tree of life. The KJV is hence:

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (KJV)

Both translate ezousia or authority as right. This view perhaps stems from the Soul Doctrine which Trinitarians espouse and which seeks to establish eternal life free of the determination of God.

The right to the tree of life has, therefore, a number of elements. The knowledge of the One True God and His son Jesus Christ are paramount. There follows on, from that knowledge, obedience to the Commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus. As there are two levels of the elect so too are there two levels in understanding. The Holy Spirit confers with it a desire for truth and an ability to obey God. There are many who understand the relationship of Jesus Christ to God and have developed their relationship with God and Christ beyond the organisation in which they attend. In the last days many will keep the commandments of God. Being baptised into the Body of Christ, they are obedient unto death. They will enter the Kingdom of God, regardless of the Church in which they sit and the ability of their ministry to enter judgment and the Kingdom of God, because they keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus. However, one element cannot be divorced from the other element.

If we can discern the primary element then we must follow on to obey the intent of the law.

Luke 10:25-28 (quoting from Deut. 6:5) And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you read?’ And he answered, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself. And he said to him 'You have answered right; do this, and you will live'.

The primary element in the text at John 17:1-3 is to know the only True God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. The distinction was made by Christ to exemplify the head of the law, namely the first commandment (at Ex. 20:3; Deut. 5:7). From this commandment all others flow. Thus Binitarianism or Trinitarianism breaches the primary element and those positions alone are enough to disqualify the adherent from eternal life flowing from the first resurrection. The issue is thus critical to salvation.

The second and equally critical element is to believe on Christ Jesus.

John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last days.

This is developed in the Gospel of John into the concept of being born again through baptism of water and Spirit. Christ said that

John 3:3,5 ... unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God...unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Thus Christ is given power to raise the dead who are baptised into his Body (not into any denomination but only into his Body) in the first resurrection when he comes again. This is the resurrection of life (Jn. 5:29). The second resurrection is the resurrection of judgment. This however does not mean of death but of correction (kriseoos).

Christ was specific that the Scriptures do not give eternal life. Only by going to Christ can one be saved, yet Christ came in the Father's name and not his own (Jn. 5:39-40,43). Christ said:

John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

The correct term is by no means dies unto the age (ou me apothane eis ton aioona) (see Marshall’s Interlinear).

Thus the elect are kept by Christ unto the age or the Millennium when they are restored in the adoption of the first resurrection. Then they are given eternal life. The concept of not dying unto the age appears to be deliberately avoided.

Time and Immortality

The concept of time only occurs when there is a relationship between objects. For example a day occurs by the movement of the earth on its axis in relation to the sun. A solar year is understood as the singular revolution of the earth around the sun. There are various years involved in the rotation of the galaxy, i.e. Solar/Sideral/Galactic. The universe has an expansion factor which relates the movement away from a primary point. The primary point was determined by Penrose as being ten to the 10th power to the 123rd power. Thus from the sheer magnitude of this number, there must be a point of origin, and no other, for the universe. All of this movement is expressed in concepts of time which are related to the earth system.

Regardless of the method of measurement it can only be that time originates with the relationship of two or more objects to each other. Thus time could only begin with the existence of two or more objects. God existed before time. The generation of the elohim was in fact the beginning of time -- the beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14). Colossians 1:15 says that Christ was the first begotten of the Creation (see the papers The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); How God Became a Family (No. 187); and The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160)).

The Lord God is thus the Alpha, as both cause and existent, and being the end objective of that action. He is also the Omega (see the paper Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229)).

Revelation 1:8 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come.

… when he becomes all in all (Eph. 1:23).

God put all things under the feet of Christ and made him head of all things to the Church. God raised Christ.

Ephesians 1:22 … from the dead and he made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but in that which is to come; and He has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Christ is thus given authority over every name, as the name itself constitutes authority. He is given authority over all things so that the Church might come into its inheritance through Christ in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily (Col. 2:9). This word translated Godhead here is theotetos meaning deity or the state of being God. Now Thayer says that deity (theot) differs from divinity (Theiot) as essence differs from quality or attribute (Thayers, p. 288). The meaning here is that the fullness of the essence of God dwelt bodily in Christ. It is this fullness of essence that is given to us so that all men put on the new nature of God (Col. 3:10).

They become neither Jew nor Greek but all are Christ’s because he is in all (Col. 3:11). He develops men, through the power of the Holy Spirit, in order to finally make God all in all (1Cor. 15:28).

When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be [all in all KJV] (panta en pasin) (see Marshall's Interlinear and also Col. 3:11 (panta kai en pasin).

The Trinitarians have begun to translate this text as ‘everything to everyone’ to avoid the logical extension of God as essence, extending to all men as it did to Christ from these texts.

It is Christ who fills us with the fullness of God (Eph. 3:19); the fullness of Christ being an image of the Father (Eph. 4:13). It is thus that we become an image or eikon of the Father as was Christ and thus we are Children of God and co-heirs with Christ to the Kingdom of God (Rom. 8:17; Jas. 2:5) – and heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:29) of salvation (Heb. 1:14) and heirs together of grace (1Pet. 3:7). The Son of God in turn becomes an Everlasting Father (Isa. 9:6) being the head of the fatherhood of the human Host thus taking its place alongside the other fatherhoods in heaven of which there are many (see the paper Isaiah 9:6 (No. 224)).

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

The word family here is patria or fatherhood. Thus the title father, whether of households or of the household of God, is a delegated title demonstrating the ultimate responsibility of each leader of each unit down to families. Thus the order is from God to Christ to the male head of the household (1Cor. 11:3). He must discharge his responsibility as God does to Christ, and the other Sons of God who are elohim, and the way those elohim in turn discharge their responsibilities to those under them.

These elohim are the morning stars of Job 38:7 and the Sons of God who are before the presence of God (Job 1:6; 2:1). These are the Sons of God as we will be the Sons of the Living God (Hos. 1:10). These morning stars are the elohim or elahhin referred to in Daniel 2:11 whose dwelling is not with flesh. Namely, they were spiritual entities. They constituted the inner council of God (Ps. 89:6-8). They were the qedosim or Holy Ones and they were all Sons of God. The council is identified in Revelation 4 & 5. They are the partners (metoxous) of the High Priest of the House of God (Heb. 10:21) who is the lamb appointed as elohim of Israel by his elohim (Ps. 45:6-7 and Heb. 1:8).

The Psalms celebrating the enthronement of the Yahovah (Jehovah) of Israel as king of the nations are Psalms 47; 93; 96; 97; 98. These partners were the council of the elohim who constituted the first act of the creation of God. The first activity of God was to create His Sons. These elohim then commenced time by their activities in relation to the Father. Christ was created with these elohim. They were all generations of the Father having the nature of God through the Holy Spirit (see the paper How God Became a Family (No. 187)).

Christ was advanced as the High Priest to rulership from his faithful compliance in the redemption of mankind, following on from the rebellion.

Hebrews 5:8-9 Though he was a son he learnt obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Thus Christ was designated High Priest because of the nature of his obedient sacrifice (see the paper The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160)).

He was thus not always in a superior position to his partners. That very point, that Christ laid down his own life and took his own blood into the Holy of Holies is why God couldn’t have been the sacrifice. The High Priest took his own blood in order to make amends to God in the Holy of Holies. That’s why Trinitarianism itself is insanity. A leader must serve and he must be willing to lay down his life for his brothers. He must be able to get over the concept of self, which is the attribute and attitude of agape love that becomes part of the nature of God. Christ had to do that and that was the meaning of his sacrifice. It had nothing to do with the adequacy of Christ (see the paper The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160)).

Thus, there is no question of Christ ever being co-eternal with God prior to the creation of the elohim. Nor is there any suggestion that he was co-equal with God, being dependent upon God for his rank and authority. He achieved that rank and authority through willing obedience. He was given the rank upon his undertaking of the task. He was allocated Israel when all the Host were allocated the nations within their individual responsibilities (e.g. Dan. 10:13,20; 12:1; Deut. 32:8 (see LXX and DSS); see also the paper The Elect as Elohim (No. 1)). Through Israel, under this elohim, God, or Eloah, was to implement the Plan of Salvation.

The concept then is that Christ was immortal, but he was allocated immortality along with all the elohim. He has immortality because he knows and obeys the Father. We also must put on immortality (1Cor. 15:53-54). Christ retains that immortality through willing obedience to the Father. We also retain immortality through willing obedience to the Father. The form of immortality that we have is the same as that given to Christ and the Host and that is aionion life. It means perpetual and is also used in the past, but it has the concept of ongoing perpetuity (see the paper On Immortality (No. 165)).

God gives us aionion life (1Jn. 5:11), which He promised to us (1Jn. 2:25). Eternal life can only be retained by the adherence to the worship and knowledge of the One True God and of His son Jesus Christ (see above Jn. 17:3) but also it may be lost through disobedience to the law. The major factor of the end result of the law as we have seen is love of God and love of man. He who does not love his brother will forfeit his eternal life (1Jn. 3:14-15). Thus it is imperative that we know that God is The One True God and that Jesus Christ is His Son.

1John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him and he in God.

Thus God dwells in the elect and they in Him exactly as God dwelt in Christ and he in God. The failure of the elect to obey God is to face the loss of their eternal life. Thus they must be able to die.

The elohim face the same penalties. Both Satan and Christ were part of the inner council of the Elohim or Holy Ones. Satan was the Anointed Covering Cherub (Isa. 14:12 ff.; Ezek. 28:14,16).

God cast the covering cherub from the mountain of God and destroyed him (Ezek. 28:16). He will be destroyed by fire and cast as ashes among the earth. This is a symbolic description of the destruction of the fallen Host. They are spiritual beings and hence are spiritual energy. The method of dealing with the fallen Host and the rebellious humans in the second resurrection and judgment is dealt with in detail in the papers The Judgment of the Demons (No. 80) and Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son (No. 199)). What is important is to know that the retention of eternal life is by willing obedience to the Father. We of the household of the king, were born to become elohim as the Angel of Yahovah (Jehovah) at our head (Zech. 12:8). Our eternal life is as elohim.

It is the equivalent of committing spiritual suicide to embrace either Trinitarianism or Binitarianism. Indeed it is a sign of the elect to be able to distinguish the errors. The Illogical Position of Trinitarianism was issued in the paper Binitarianism and Trinitarianism (No. 76). Here we extend that position to deal with a few illogical points of Ditheism or Binitarianism (see the paper Soncinianism, Arianism and Unitarianism (No. 185)).

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The Illogical Consequences of Binitarianism

Binitarianism falls into many of the same errors, by and large, as Trinitarianism. Most people who are Binitarians are people who see the unbiblical nature of Trinitarianism but wish to retain some position for Christ, which will not totally alienate them from Trinitarians. This, of course, is an impossibility.

A Binitarian who holds that God and Christ are One and seeks to merge them, inevitably must accommodate the Holy Spirit. Thus, whether the Holy Spirit is a person or a force becomes mere semantics as the Binitarian is forced to merge the Spirit into the two and so the discussion merely centres around the functional mechanics of how the three are one. Binitarianism in effect cannot stand and, consequently, until the twentieth century there have been few Binitarian sects (see the papers God Revealed Chapter 1 – Ancient Monotheism (No. G1); The Golden Calf (No. 222) and The Origins of Christmas and Easter (No. 235)).

Binitarians who hold that God and Christ are two separate co-eternal Beings, which is logical Ditheism, and hold to the existence of two True Gods (contrary to Jn. 17:3; 1Jn. 5:20; 1Tim. 6:16) are committed to the following dilemmas or problems.

* If God and Christ co-existed eternally before time then time as a relation between objects does not apply. Thus God and Christ are not entities. Entities or Beings by definition exist; therefore God and Christ do not exist. (That God and Christ were not Beings has been advanced by Trinitarian apologists in the Churches of God over recent years. This reasoning seems to extend into Process Theology and extends to the theory of non-existence in Buddhism and Hinduism.)

* If God and Christ existed co-eternally then there are two Beings that share the names God and Christ. The name Christ means anointed one. Therefore, one of the entities is anointed and the other is not. This begs the following questions:

* Who anointed the one Being?

* Anointing confers authority therefore they were not co-equal. If they were not co-equal, where does the precedence arise if they were co-eternal?

* Thus one must be stronger than the other, so again they could not be co-equal.

* If they were indeed co-equal and the term anointed merely means they decided: Surely that means they could each have gone to be sacrificed.

* How could The Lord say to David's Lord, who was Messiah or the Yahovah (Jehovah) of Israel:

Sit at my right hand till I make thy enemies thy footstool (Ps. 110:1).

* How can Christ sit at the right hand of his equal?

* If they were co-eternal they would sit side by side. God would sit at Christ's left hand conversely.

* The word God derives from the sense of ultimate good. Does that mean that the other is not? Are they both named God?

* Does that then mean that they could have argued as to who came down to be sacrificed (as was indeed suggested over the period 1989-1990 by some Binitarians)?

· If One is God the Father and the other is God the Son how does that differ from Trinitarianism or from the worship of the god Attis? (See the paper The Origins of Christmas and Easter (No. 235).)

* How can Christ have partners if he is co-eternal with God and they are not? Would not that mean also that God has partners? How then is He Father?

* If two Beings are co-eternal how can Fatherhood be predicated to one and Sonship be predicated to the other with any meaning in language?

* If Fatherhood and Sonship mean something other than what is conveyed in language, then surely the images conveyed in the Bible are incorrect. If that is the case how can Scripture be true? If Scripture is not true then how can God be true? If God is not true, how can He be God? But God is the God of truth, therefore He must be Father and Christ must be son and therefore they are not co-eternal.

If one is not co-eternal then he is God or elohim by adoption or inheritance, as are all the Sons of God, both heavenly and human (see also Zech. 12:8). Elohim is plural and Eloah is singular. Eloah is the Father (Prov. 30:4-5) who is the object of worship and sacrifice at His temple, having placed His name in Jerusalem (Ezra 4:24 to 7:26).

If there is no subordination involved in Jesus Christ's position, then the entire New Testament is written in misleading language. Thus there is nothing that can be predicated to obedience. It becomes irrelevant whether the Bible is followed, as it is not inspired within any sense that can be explained in logic or in language.

Further, there are a host of questions that are raised in the Problem of Evil relating to Dualism which then apply to Christianity. Christianity cannot be logically monotheist with two co-eternal Gods.

There is One True God and His son Jesus Christ is our head, being anointed by his God (Ps. 45:6-7; Heb. 1:8-9). Therefore, the logical position of both the Bible and of Rational Theism is Unitarian, and not Binitarian or Trinitarian. Eternal life is predicated upon this understanding and of obedience to God.

Christian Churches of God

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