I submitted an article explaining the New Testament meaning of “last days” to a Christian website that posts articles and comments from guests, beroeans.net. There I was told they wouldn’t publish my article because I might believe in the Trinity. They don’t publish articles written by trinitarians. Their response included the statement they were making no assertion claiming I am a trinitarian, but just that the possibility exists I might be one. So the possibility I might be one prohibits them from publishing any article I write.
Now the article I submitted made no mention of the Trinity or anything related to it. My article only considered the meaning of the “last days,” as the phrase is used in New Testament scriptures. I published the same article here on debate scripture. You’re invited to review it here.
Last Days and Return of Christ When?
Also, later I was ordered by their site administrator to change my tone and if not I would be bounced off his site. My recollection is that I was never rude to any of his writers or guests, while some of them were rude to me when I brought up points that contradicted what they were teaching. Deciding it wasn’t my tone that was the objection but rather the content of my comments, I decided to withdraw my participation there. My beliefs and comments will not change because of someone else’s tone, although my participation in their project might, as it did there. How does that experience relate to this article? One of the topics we debated on that website was whether Christ is God or not. I supported the thought Christ is God over angels and men, but the site’s authors and other commenters believe Christ is not God.
On a completely different Christian website one commenter stated, “the Father is God, Christ the Son is God, but whether or not the Holy Spirit is God is debatable.” After another guest belittled his comment, I responded claiming scriptures do claim the Father is God and the Son is God, but in Revelation chapter five the seven spirits of God that go out into all the earth are seen as the eyes and horns of the lamb, showing Holy Spirit is part of the lamb in that verse. And the lamb there pictures Christ. So scriptures show Holy Spirit is part of Christ in those scriptures. Other scriptures in Revelation chapter one claim the seven Spirits of God are before the throne of the one who is, was , and is to come (God). And so it is possible Holy Spirit is part of the Father and part of the Son, and not a third person as the Trinity claims. It’s possible just the Father and Son are God while Holy Spirit is part of their very being, as our arms are part of us.
That comment of mine was turned in to administrators of that website, which then banned me from making further comments until I agreed to be questioned by its administrators. I was told they must inquire into my beliefs about the Trinity doctrine, as only believers in that doctrine are allowed to comment. I refused to submit to their inquisition, and so I am forever banned from commenting on their site.
The Trinity doctrine is the primary doctrine many denominational Christians hold to while making the claim that Christians with opposing viewpoints are not real Christians. I have heard several Bible teachers on Christian Satellite Network claim Jehovah’s Witnesses are a cult because they don’t accept the Trinity. On the other hand Jehovah’s Witnesses use the Trinity belief held by denominational Christianity to claim every other denomination is apostate Christianity, because they believe in the Trinity.
I’ll post a few scriptures relevant to this topic below. Because of the finger pointing and slanderous accusations made against members and denominations on opposing sides of this belief, I advise you dispense with their rhetoric and make up your own mind from a clean slate, while allowing scriptures to write on it and not denominational rhetoric.
With regard to the Father being God and the Son being God, I direct you to my article on that subject (Is Christ God over Angels and Men or an Archangel). No need to repeat the same information here. So the scriptures below will focus on the Holy Spirit. My belief is that the Father is God, per scripture, the Son is God per scripture, but it is most likely Holy Spirit is part of the Father and Son, and not a separate person with a separate personality.
I know pronouns are often used when speaking of the Holy Spirit in scripture. But if he is not a separate person from the Father and Son there could be two explanations for that. The first explanation is that if he is part of Christ and part of the Father, as our arms are part of us, then speaking of Holy Spirit as a pronoun is appropriate. Because “he” could be the Father in some scriptures and the Son in other scriptures. Of course the Father and Son could individually be referred to as “he.”
The apostle John referred to himself in the third person inside his gospel. He called himself the disciple Christ loved. He never said he spoke of himself while using that phrase. In the same way Christ might have spoken of Holy Spirit in the third person while referring to actions taken by himself, and also when speaking of actions taken by the Father.
For those who would argue my arm is not me, and I have engaged with Christians who assert that, then the literary device of personification could account for the use of pronouns referring to the Holy Spirit. However, anyone elbowed by my arm would know it was me and not just an arm.
It’s my belief that anyone contacted by God will know that Holy Spirit is God the Father, or Christ the Son. I base that belief on my own personal experiences and all the biblical responses by other people who were contacted by God. When God contacts a person, he does so either through his Holy Spirit or by sending an angel to communicate. It’s always been that way. See the scriptures below this line.
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Revelation 1:4-5 reads, “To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 5:6 reads, “The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Zechariah 4:6 reads, “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.’”