The fact that "name" is singular at Matt. 28:19 is
only further proof that "authority" or "power" was meant
and not a personal name. If more than one person is involved, then the plural
"names" would be used (cp. Rev. 21:12). Even trinitarians admit
that their God is composed of 3 separate Persons. And each one of those
"Persons" has His own Personal name (except, as we have seen, the
holy spirit really does not)! Therefore, if personal names were intended here
for these 3 different "Persons," the plural "names"
would have been used in this scripture. In fact, it must be used that way!
We even recognize this in our own language today: "I
did it in the name [singular] of love, humanity, and justice." There is also a famous statement in United States history that
perfectly illustrates this use of the singular "name" when it is
being used to mean "in recognition of power or authority." Ethan
Allen, writing about his capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, quoted the words
he spoke when the British commander of that fort asked him by what authority
Allen had captured it. Ethan Allen replied:
"In the name [singular] of the
Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress."
A Book About American History, Stimpson, Fawcett Publ., 1962 printing, p 100.
A Book About American History, Stimpson, Fawcett Publ., 1962 printing, p 100.
(Also see Rebels and Redcoats, p. 54, Scheer and Rankin, Mentor Books, 1959 printing; and p. 167, Vol. 1, Universal Standard Encyclopedia, the 1955 abridgment of the New Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia.)
How ludicrous it would be to conclude that Allen really
meant that Jehovah and the Continental Congress had the same personal name and
were both equally God!
To paraphrase the quote credited to trinitarian writer
Reymond at the beginning of this section above:
"What Ethan Allen does say is this...'in the name
[singular] of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress,' first asserting
the unity of the two by combining them within the bounds of the single Name,
and then throwing into emphasis the distinctness of each by introducing them in
turn with the repeated article ['the']."
According to this desperate attempt by trinitarians to make
trinitarian evidence from Matt. 28:19, then, the same kind of statement by
Ethan Allen is evidence (because of the singular "Name" and the
repeated article) that The Continental Congress is equally God! (We might also
consider a British expression: "in the name of God, king and
country.")
Also notice how Luke 9:26 (which actually says, "when
[Jesus] comes in the glory [singular] of him [Jesus] and of the Father and of
the holy angels")...But, here, of course, the angels, too, make up the
"trinity." We have, then, God the Father, God the Son, and God the
holy angels!
If Jesus were really saying that Jehovah, Jesus, and the
holy spirit had personal names and these names must be used during baptism, he
would have used the plural word "names" at Matt. 28:19. And we would
see the Father's personal name ("Jehovah" - Is. 63:16; 64:8; Ps.
83:18; Luke 1:32; Exodus 3:15 and Acts 3:13) and the Son's personal name
("Jesus" - Luke 1:31, 32) and the holy spirit's personal name
("?") all being used in Christian baptism ceremonies for the past
1900 years.
Honestly now, how many religions actually use the personal
names "Jehovah," "Jesus," and "(??)" when
baptizing? - ("We baptize you in the names of 'Jehovah,' 'Jesus,' and
'???'.") Or, since a few anti-Watchtower trinitarians even claim that the
singular "name" at Matt. 28:19 is really "Jehovah," how
many religions really use the personal name "Jehovah" (or
"Yahweh") when baptizing? ("We baptize you in Jehovah's
name.") Any church that does not do so, must be admitting, in effect, that
"name" in this scripture does not mean personal name!
In spite of the extreme weakness of the trinitarian
"evidence" for Matt. 28:19, it is nearly always cited by trinitarians
because, incredibly poor as it is, it is one of their very best trinitarian
"proofs"! And it is generally hailed by trinitarians as the best
evidence for the deity of the holy spirit! This certainly shows how extremely
weak the scriptural evidence is for a trinity!
No comments:
Post a Comment