Slideshow image

Unbelievers (and Jehovah’s Witnesses) claim that the deity of Jesus was made up at the Council of Nicaea, nearly 300 years after Jesus’ death. Yet, Isaiah writing around the 8th century B.C. referred to the coming Messiah as deity – God!

Matthew applies Isaiah 7:14 to Jesus, “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” Matthew rightly translates Immanuel, “God with us” (Mt. 1:23). Isaiah 9:14, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Why would Isaiah call the Messiah “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father” and “Immanuel” if he wasn’t God? Isaiah is claiming that the Messiah, Jesus, is God.

But there’s more! Both Matthew (3:3) and John (1:23) ascribe Isaiah 40:3 to John the Baptist. “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the LORD in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” The gospels are clear that John the Baptist cleared the way for Jesus, yet Isaiah said the forerunner would clear the way for the LORD. When we read LORD in modern translations, we need to realize that they are transliterating YHWH. These 4 Hebrew consonants are sometimes translated as Jehovah or Yahweh. Out of fear and respect, the Jews would never pronounce the name, so no one is certain of the pronunciation today. So, most modern translators have chosen to use “LORD” (in all caps). Thus, Isaiah claimed that the forerunner would clear the way for “Jehovah” … “our God”, making the Messiah deity. Since Jesus is the Messiah, He is God!

Isaiah writes “I, even I, am the LORD; And there is no savior besides Me” (43:11). Isaiah says that God is the only savior. Paul confirms this in Titus. In Tit. 1:3, he refers to “God our Savior” and then in vs. 4 he writes “Christ Jesus our Savior”. He repeats this in Tit. 3:4 speaking of “God our Savior” and then in vs. 6, “Jesus Christ our Savior”. If there is only one savior and He is God, then Paul is clearly calling Jesus God.

(*all bold emphasis is mine)