13. Jehovah-Jesus COMMANDS THE CREATURES
Not only did Jehovah-Jesus have complete control over the elements, but He also was the LORD (Jehovah) of Psalm 104. Let us note the parallel.
"0 LORD [Jehovah], how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts." Psa. 104: 24, 25.
See also the case of Jonah.
"Now the LORD [Jehovah] had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD [Jehovah] his God out of the fish's belly. . . . And the LORD [Jehovah] spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land." Jonah 1:17; 2: 1, 10.
"He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake." Luke 5:4-6.
"Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes." John 21: 5, 6.
Here we append a note from the pen of another:
"In other days, the God of Israel had commanded the creatures of the great deep, and a 'great fish' was prepared to swallow up Jonah, and give him a burying place for the appointed time. And so in His day, Jesus approved Himself the Lord of the
fulness of 'this great and wide sea,' summoning a host of 'small beasts,' thereof into the net of Peter (Psa. 104; Luke 5). 'Both small and great beasts,' that find their pastime therein, thus earlier and later days owned the word of Jehovah-Jesus."7
How precious this testimony that Jesus is Jehovah.
14. Jehovah-Jesus FORGIVES SINS
One of the prerogatives of Jehovah is to forgive sins; our Lord assumed this prerogative on numerous occasions. We herewith list a few of such instances.
"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD [Jehovah]; and thou for-gayest the iniquity of my sin." Psa. 32:5.
"Thus saith the LORD [Jehovah], . . . I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." Isa. 43:16, 25.
"The LORD [Jehovah] is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression." Num. 14:18.
"If t h o u, LORD [Jehovah] shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." Psa. 130:3, 4.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee." Mark 2:5.
"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house." Luke 5:24.
"And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" Luke 7:48, 49.
What a solemn matter it would be for any creature to assume the prerogative of a holy, holy, holy God to forgive sin.
Truly Jesus is Jehovah.
15. Jehovah-Jesus, THE HUSBAND OF HIS PEOPLE
In the Old Testament Jehovah repeatedly takes the place of being the husband of His people, Israel. A similar relationship is denoted with reference to Christ and His people in the New Testament. Note the following:
"For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD [Jehovah] of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel." Isa. 54:5.
"Turn, 0 backsliding children, saith the LORD [Jehovah]; for I am married unto you." Jer. 3:14.
"My covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD [Jehovah]." Jer. 31:32.
"And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD [Jehovah], that thou shalt call me Ishi [margin, "my husband"] . . . . And I will betroth thee unto me for ever." Hos. 2:16, 19.
"I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Cor. 11:2.
"And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10. "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom . . . rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. . . . He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:29, 30.
"Let us be glad and rejoice, . . . for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. . . . Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev. 19:7, 9.
If Israel is the bride of Jehovah in the Old Testament, how blessed is our portion to be part of the heavenly bride of our Jehovah-Jesus!
16. Jehovah-Jesus, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS
Another blessed identity of Jesus with Jehovah is found in the title, "Our Righteousness."
Note the following:
"Behold the days come, saith "But of him are ye in Christ
the LORD [Jehovah], that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD [Jehovah] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jer. 23: 5, 6.
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness."
1 Cor. 1:30.
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." Rom. 10:4. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
2 Cor. 5:21.
Yes, none other than Jesus is THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
17. Jehovah-Jesus, SALVATION THROUGH HIS NAME
Closely related to the above is the fact that salvation as the result of calling upon the name of the LORD (Jehovah) is equally predicated of Jehovah in the Old Testament as of Christ in the New. Note the parallel:
"Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD [Jehovah] your God. . . . I am the LORD [Jehovah] your God, and none else. .. . And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lon]) [Jehovah] shall be delivered [saved] ."8 Joel 2:23-32.
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. . . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Rom. 10:4, 13.
Note carefully that the passage cited from Romans 10:4, 13 is a direct quotation from the prophecy of Joel in the Old Testament. Another has well said:
"It is as Jehovah that God became the Saviour of Israel, and as Jehovah He saves the world; and this is the truth embodied in the name Jesus which is literally Jehovah-Saviour."9
How simple to faith is the identity of Jehovah in the Old Testament with Jesus in the New.
18. Jehovah-Jesus, THE JUDGE
Another patent parallel between Jehovah in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New, is in the solemn matter of judgment. We append just a few of the many parallels.
"The mighty God, even the LORD [Jehovah], hath spoken. . . . Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people. . . . For God is judge himself." Psa. 50:1-6. "Behold the LORD [Jehovah] hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. . . . Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. . . . I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart." Isa. 62:11; 63:1, 3, 4.
"Behold, the day of the LORD [Jehovah] cometh, cruel both
"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. . . . And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." John 5:22, 27.
"Him God raised up the third day. . . . And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead." Acts 10:40, 42.
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. . . . And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. . . . And he hath on his vesture ... a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Rev. 19:11, 13, 16.
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.
with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity." Isa. 13:9-11.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matt. 24:29, 30.
Yes, dear reader, if language means anything the above awe inspiring words show beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus is Jehovah.
7. "The Son of God," by J. G. Bellett, p. 25, The Bible Truth Press, 1 & 3 East 13th St., New York.
8. See the Greek Septuagint Version in loco. London, S. Bagster & Sons, Ltd., N. Y. James Pott & Co.
9. Old Testament Synonyms, by Robt. B. Girdlestone, p. 64. (To be continued)