Stephen E. Jones

Jesus is Jehovah Quotes: Unclassified quotes: March 2009

[Home] [Updates] [Site map] [My Quotes; JiJ unclassified & classified quotes] [My Jesus is Jehovah! blog]

The following are quotes added to my Jesus is Jehovah unclassified quotes database in March 2009.
The date format is dd/mm/yy. See copyright conditions at end.

2009: Jan, Feb, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

1/03/2009
"We have the opportunity to show love for our brothers who take the lead in the congregation or in 
connection with Jehovah's visible organization worldwide. This includes being loyal to `the faithful and 
discreet slave.' (Matthew 24:45-47) Let us face the fact that no matter how much Bible reading we have done, 
we would never have learned the truth on our own. We would not have discovered the truth regarding 
Jehovah, his purposes and attributes, the meaning and importance of his name, the Kingdom, Jesus' ransom, 
the difference between God's organization and Satan's, nor why God has permitted wickedness." ("How Can 
We Respond Unselfishly to God's Love?," The Watchtower, December 1, 1990, pp.15-20, p.19)

1/03/2009
"1 Timothy 2:5 ... The New World Translation renders 1 Timothy 2:5 .., `For there is one God, and one 
mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus ...' The Watchtower Society argues that because Jesus 
is said to mediate `between God and men,' it is clear that He cannot be viewed as God. After all, `since by 
definition a mediator is someone separate from those who need mediation, it would be a contradiction for 
Jesus to be one entity with either of the parties he is trying to reconcile. That would be a pretending to be 
something he is not.' ["Should You Believe in the Trinity?," 1989, p.16.] Their conclusion, then, is that Christ 
as a mediator cannot be viewed as God. How could Jesus mediate between God and man if He Himself was 
God? ... Is it true that because Jesus is a mediator between God and man, He cannot be God, since `by 
definition a mediator is someone separate from those who need mediation'? [Ibid] By no means! The folly of 
this reasoning is at once evident in the fact that if Jesus as mediator cannot be God, then, by the same logic, 
He cannot be man either. [Bowman, R.M., "Why You Should Believe in the Trinity," Baker: Grand Rapids, 
1989, p.73] The fact is, Jesus can mediate between God and man precisely because He is both God and man. 
[Ibid] Indeed, humankind's redemption was completely dependent upon the human-divine union in Christ. If 
Christ the Redeemer had been only God, He could not have died, since God by His very nature cannot die. It 
was only as a man that Christ could represent humanity and die as a man. As God, however, Christ's death 
had infinite value sufficient to provide redemption for the sins of all people. Clearly, then, Christ had to be 
both God and man to secure man's salvation (1 Timothy 2:5)." (Rhodes, R., "Reasoning from the Scriptures 
with the Jehovah's Witnesses, " Harvest House: Eugene OR, 1993, Reprinted, 2006, pp.286-288. Emphasis 
original)

1/03/2009
"Matthew 3:16,17 - Jesus' Baptism ... The New World Translation renders Matthew 3:16,17, `After 
being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up, and he 
saw descending like a dove God's spirit coming upon him. Look! Also, there was a voice from the heavens 
that said: `This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.' Making mockery of the Trinitarian 
interpretation of this verse, the Watchtower Society asks, `Was God saying that he was his own son, that 
he approved himself, that he sent himself? No, God the Creator was saying that he, as the superior, was 
approving a lesser one, his Son Jesus, for the work ahead.' ["Should You Believe in the Trinity?," 1989, p.18] 
The Watchtower Society argues that Matthew 3:16,17 does not prove that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
are one. The booklet Should You Believe in the Trinity? notes that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned 
together a number of times, but this does not make them one. Likewise, Peter, James, and John are 
mentioned together, but this does not make them one. [Ibid., p.23] Hence, Matthew 3:16,17 does not support 
the doctrine of the Trinity. ... As is true with 2 Corinthians 13:14, Matthew 3:16,17 by itself does not prove 
the doctrine of the Trinity. No Trinitarian bases his belief in the Trinity on a single verse, but rather on the 
accumulative evidence of the whole of Scripture. When Matthew 3:16,17 is considered with other passages, 
there can be no doubt that the doctrine of the Trinity is true. ... Though Matthew 3:16,17 may not by itself 
prove the doctrine of the Trinity, it definitely supports the doctrine. ... In view of those facts, we must 
conclude that when the Father and the Son are mentioned in Matthew 3:16,17, they are spoken of in terms of 
their eternal deity. This adds supportive evidence for the doctrine of the Trinity. ... Matthew 3:16,17 is an 
excellent support text for affirming the reality of the Trinity." (Rhodes, R., "Reasoning from the Scriptures 
with the Jehovah's Witnesses," [1993], Harvest House: Eugene OR, Reprinted, 2006, pp.241-243).

1/03/2009
"One other common prooftext for the Trinity ought to be mentioned. When Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit 
symbolically descends on him as a dove, and the Father announces that Jesus is his Son (Matt. 3:16-17; see 
also Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:32-34). The JW booklet [Should You Believe in the Trinity?] 
argues that the descent of the Spirit on Jesus at his baptism implies `that Jesus was not anointed by spirit 
until that time' (p. 23), but this is not said. Are we to believe that John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit 
from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15), while the Son of God was devoid of the Spirit until he was about thirty 
years old? Are we to believe that a mere human, which according to the Witnesses Jesus was, lived a 
sinless life for about thirty years without the help of the Holy Spirit? The fact is that the Holy Spirit's 
descent on Jesus was not for him to become actively present in Jesus' life for the first time, but to mark 
publicly the beginning of Jesus' ministry and manifest to the world that the Spirit was indeed on Jesus. 
These prooftexts, then, do support the belief that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons, and also 
lend some support-though probably not absolute proof-to the belief that these three persons are God. But 
their chief importance does not lie in their constituting isolated prooftexts for the Trinity as a complete 
doctrine. No one verse tells us everything about God. The importance of these texts is in demonstrating that 
the New Testament writers did think along `trinitarian' lines, without the formal vocabulary, of course, of 
later trinitarian theology. But it is not just in a few prooftexts that this threefoldness, this trinitarian pattern, 
is to be found. On the contrary, it pervades the New Testament." (Bowman, R.M., Jr., "Why You Should 
Believe in the Trinity: An Answer to Jehovah's Witnesses," Baker: Grand Rapids MI, 1989, Third printing, 
1990, pp.126-127. Emphasis original)

1/03/2009
"Christians do not believe that the Trinity was incarnate in Christ and that they were `three in one' during 
Christ's ministry. Christ voluntarily limited Himself in His earthly body, but heaven was always open to Him. 
At His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove, the Father spoke, and the Son was baptized. What 
further proof is needed to show a threefold unity? Compare the baptism of Christ (Mt 3:16-17) with the 
commission to preach in the threefold name of God (Mt 28:19), and the evidence is clear and undeniable. Of 
course, it is not possible to fathom this great revelation completely, but this we do know: there is a unity of 
substance, not three gods, and that unity is one in every sense, which no reasonable person can doubt after 
surveying the evidence. When Jesus said, `My Father is greater than I,' He spoke the truth; for in the form 
of a servant (Phil 2:7) and as a man, the Son was subject to the Father willingly; but upon His resurrection 
and in the radiance of His glory (vv. 7-8), He showed forth His deity when He declared, `All authority is 
surrendered to me in heaven and in earth' (Mt 28:18); proof positive of His genuine nature and unity of 
substance. It is evident, then, that the Lord Jesus Christ was never inferior, spiritually speaking, to His 
Father during His sojourn on earth; and contrary to the view of Jehovah's Witnesses, even during the days 
of His flesh, there was no subordination of His essence, since He said that `all men should honour the Son, 
even as they honour the Father' (Jn 5:23, KJV)." (Martin, W.R. & Klann, N., "Jehovah of the Watchtower," 
Bethany House Publishers: Bloomington MN, 1953, Reprinted, 1974, pp.44-45)

1/03/2009
"The scriptural truth that the Father is not the Son, nor the Son the Spirit, is rather easily demonstrated. We 
begin with the fact that the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father-actions incomprehensible 
outside of recognizing that the Father is a separate divine person from the Son: `The Father loves the Son 
and has given all things into His hand' (John 3:35). `For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things 
that He Himself is doing; and greater works than these will He show Him, so that you will marvel' (John 5:20). 
... `Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love' (John 15:9). `I in them and You 
in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, 
even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I 
am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of 
the world' (John 17:23-24)." (White, J.R., "The Forgotten Trinity: Recovering the Heart of Christian Belief," 
Bethany House: Minneapolis MN, 1998, pp.154-155)

1/03/2009
"Certainly the best known example of the existence of three persons [in the Trinity] is the baptism of Jesus 
recorded in Matthew 3:16-17: After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, 
the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and 
behold, a voice out of the heavens said, `This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.' Here the 
Father speaks from heaven, the Son is being baptized (and is again described as being the object of the 
Father's love ...), and the Spirit is descending as a dove. Jesus is not speaking to himself but is spoken to by 
the Father. There is no confusing of the persons at the baptism of the Lord Jesus." (White, J.R., "The 
Forgotten Trinity: Recovering the Heart of Christian Belief," Bethany House: Minneapolis MN, 1998, pp.154-
155)

2/03/2009
"[2Th 1:9] With reference to the persecutors Paul continues: such as will pay the penalty of 
everlasting destruction away from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might. The attention 
is once more focussed on the cruel individuals who, in their hatred of God and of the gospel, make life 
hard for sincere believers. They are such people as .. will pay the penalty of everlasting ... 
destruction. The very fact that this `destruction' (cf. I Thess. 5:3; I Cor. 5:5; I Tim. 6:9) is `everlasting' 
shows that it does not amount to `annihilation' or `going out of existence.' On the contrary it indicates 
an existence `away from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might.' While `everlasting life' 
manifests itself in the blessed contemplation of the face of the Lord, sweet fellowship with him, 
closeness to him (Rev. 22:4; cf. Ps. 17:15; Matt. 5:8), a most wonderful together-ness (I Thess. 4:17), 
`everlasting destruction' - which is the product of God's vengeance (see verse 8 above) - is the very 
opposite. Just as the `blessing' (?) of Esau consisted in this, that his dwelling would be away from 
the fatness of the earth, and away from the dew of heaven (Gen. 27:39 correctly translated), so the 
punishment which all the persecutors of God's people will suffer will be everlasting existence away 
from (apo) Christ, banished forever from his favor. Cf. Rom. 9:3. The language employed here 
reminds one of the recurring refrain of Is. 2:10, 19, 21 ... This banishment from loving fellowship with 
Christ implies expulsion from `the glory (radiant splendor) of his might' as it is manifested in the 
salvation of the saints." (Hendriksen, W., "1 & 2 Thessalonians," New Testament Commentary, [1955], 
Banner of Truth: Edinburgh UK, British edition, 1972, pp.160-161) 

2/03/2009
"Isa 2:10-21 (ASV) 10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and 
from the glory of his majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughtiness of men 
shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For there shall be a day of Jehovah 
of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; 13 
and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 and 
upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 and upon every lofty tower, and 
upon every fortified wall, 16 and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery. 17 And the 
loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone 
shall be exalted in that day. 18 And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19 And men shall go into the caves of 
the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his 
majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 20 In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, 
and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21 to go 
into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and 
from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 

3/03/2009
"[2Th 1:13] It is grammatically possible to understand our God as synonymous with the Lord Jesus 
Christ, since one article covers both; indeed, Nigel Turner says bluntly, `"Our Lord and God Jesus Christ" 
would be the correct rendering' [Turner, N., "Grammatical Insights into the New Testament, T. & T. Clark, 
1965, p.16] (cf. GNB mg., 'our God and Lord Jesus Christ'). But kyrios (Lord) often occurs without the 
article, like a proper name. Most commentators take this sense here and understand the expression to refer 
to both the Father and the Son. This is probable, but the other possibility cannot be excluded. And in any 
case we should notice the closeness of Christ and God." (Morris, L.L., "The Epistles of Paul to the 
Thessalonians: An Introduction and Commentary," Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, [1956], Inter-
Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second edition, 1984, p.125)

5/03/2009
"[2Th 2:13] They are brothers loved by the Lord (cf. 1 Thes. 1:4), where Lord means Jesus. Paul uses 
this term often and it is specially appropriate here, where he has been speaking of the might of Antichrist. 
Those loved by the Lord have nothing to fear from such a one. Paul is not setting out a doctrine of the 
Trinity, but all three Persons are mentioned (as in Mt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; Heb. 9:14; 
1 Pet. 1:2; Jude 20- 21)." (Morris, L.L., "The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians: An Introduction and 
Commentary," Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, [1956], Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second 
edition, 1984, p.136)

7/03/2009
"[2Th 2:16] As in the first Epistle, Paul brings the main section of the letter to a close with a prayer for the 
Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thes. 3:11-13), and some of the wording is markedly similar. He places our Lord Jesus 
Christ himself before God our Father, probably because the Lord Jesus has been much in mind in the 
preceding section. Paul's usual habit is to mention the Father first, but the order is sometimes reversed, as in 
the well-known 'grace' (2 Cor. 13:14; cf. Gal. 1:1). The facts that the Lord Jesus is so closely associated with 
the Father, and that on occasion he is placed first, are evidence of the way Paul thought of him. Clearly he 
did not distinguish him sharply from the Father and this is seen in the fact that the verbs 'encourage' and 
'strengthen' in the next verse are both singular, despite the double subject. Paul saw the Father and the Son 
as in some sense one (see also on 1 Thes. 3:11)." (Morris, L.L., "The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians: 
An Introduction and Commentary," Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, [1956], Inter-Varsity Press: 
Leicester UK, Second edition, 1984, pp.138-139)

8/03/2009
"Jesus as `Lord' in the Gospels As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, during Jesus' lifetime 
other human beings were unlikely to refer to Jesus as `Lord' in a way that would identify him as YHWH. 
Nevertheless, the Gospels, which their authors composed after Jesus' resurrection, sometimes do speak of 
Jesus as Lord in this way. A familiar example comes toward the beginning of all four Gospels, each of which 
states that John the Baptist's ministry of preparing the way for Jesus the Messiah was a fulfillment of Isaiah 
40:3, `Prepare the way of the Lord' (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; cf Luke 1:16; John 1:23)." (Bowman, R.M., 
Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 
2007, pp.159-160. Emphasis original)

8/03/2009
"Early in his ministry, Jesus warned that even those who said to him `Lord, Lord' (kurie, kurie) and claimed 
to do miracles in his name were condemned if they disobeyed him (Matt. 7:21-22; Luke 6:46; see also Matt. 
25:11). This doubled form of address occurs repeatedly in the Septuagint in place of the Hebrew `Lord 
YHWH' (Deut. 3:24; 9:26; 1 Kings 8:53; Ps. 69:6; Ezek. 20:49; Amos 7:2, 5) or `YHWH Lord' (Pss. 109:21; 
140:7; 141:8), but never in reference to anyone but YHWH. ... Were we to take seriously the hypothesis of an 
original New Testament text containing the tetragram, Matthew 7:21-22 would be a clear candidate for 
`restoring' the divine name YHWH, since the doubled kurie kurie evidently originated from Greek-
speaking Jews translating `Lord YHWH' and `YHWH Lord.'" (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., 
"Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, pp.159, 337 n.13)

8/03/2009
"On one occasion, Jesus had fallen asleep while out in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee with some of his 
disciples. When a severe storm threatened to capsize the boat, the men woke Jesus up, saying, `Lord, save 
us!' (kurie, soson, Matt. 8:25). On another occasion, Peter tried to walk on the sea after seeing Jesus do it, 
but when he lost faith and started to sink, he also cried out, `Lord, save me!' (kurie, soson me, Matt. 
14:30). They may not have intended to do so, but the disciples' cries to the Lord Jesus for help recall the 
words of a Psalm directed to God: `O LORD, save now' (o kurie, soson de, Ps. 118:25, translating 
literally)." (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," 
Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, p.160)

8/03/2009
"Jesus as `Lord' in the Book of Acts The book of Acts opens with Jesus' final appearance to his disciples 
and his ascension into heaven (Acts 1:1-11). As the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit to come, they prayed 
the first recorded prayer to Jesus, addressing him as `Lord' and acknowledging that he knows the hearts of 
all people (Acts 1:24). The Old Testament, of course, ascribes this attribute of knowing people's hearts to 
Jehovah alone (1 Kings 8:39). In the first Christian sermon, Peter quoted the prophet Joel: `Then everyone 
who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved' (Acts 2:21, quoting Joel 2:32, which has YHWH). At the 
climax of his sermon, Peter concludes, `Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God 
has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified' (Acts 2:36). In the context of Luke's 
writings (Luke and Acts), this statement does not mean that Jesus was not `Lord' prior to his resurrection, 
since Jesus was Lord and Messiah (Christ) even when he was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:11). Rather, Peter 
means that God had exalted Jesus so that people would now recognize him for who he truly is, both Lord 
and Messiah. The idea is similar to Paul's statement that in the resurrection God `declared' Jesus `to be Son 
of God with power' (Rom. 1:4)." (Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place:
The Case for the Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, pp.160-161. Emphasis original)

8/03/2009
"From the first prayer to Jesus and the first sermon about Jesus, we move to the first martyr for Jesus. As 
Stephen was being stoned to death, he twice `called upon' Jesus as `Lord,' asking him to receive his spirit 
and to forgive his killers (Acts 7:59-60). As we saw when we discussed praying to Jesus, the idea of `calling 
upon' Jesus as Lord clearly recalls Joel 2:32, which Peter quoted in his sermon in Acts 2. Thus, simply 
reading these statements in the context of the whole narrative in Acts makes it clear that the early church 
prayed to Jesus and addressed him as the `Lord' spoken of in the Old Testament. This is consistent with the 
emphasis we saw ... on the `name' of the `Lord' Jesus in Acts (8:16; 9:15, 27-28; 15:26; 19:5, 17; 21:13)." 
(Bowman, R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," 
Kregel: Grand Rapids MI, 2007, p.161)

8/03/2009
"The book of Acts also refers to the message about Jesus that the apostles taught as `the word of the Lord' 
(Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48-49; 15:35-36; 16:32; 19:10; see also 1 Thess. 1:8; 2 Thess. 3:1). This expression is 
common in the Old Testament in reference to the message that the Lord (YHWH) gave to his prophets (e.g., 
2 Sam. 24:11; 1 Kings 13:1-2; 2 Chron. 36:21; Isa. 1:10; Jer. 1:4; Ezek. 1:3; Hos. 1:1-2; Joel 1:1; Amos 8:11-12; 
Jonah 1:1; 3:1; Mic. 1:1; Mal. 1:1). In Acts, then, Jesus is the Lord to whom the disciples pray. He is the one 
who knows the hearts of all people, on whom the disciples call in the moment of their death, whose name 
they live to glorify and die to serve, and whose word they believe, proclaim, and teach. In all of these ways, 
the identification of Jesus as `Lord' equates him with the Lord YHWH of the Old Testament.'" (Bowman, 
R.M., Jr. & Komoszewski, J.E., "Putting Jesus In His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ," Kregel: Grand 
Rapids MI, 2007, p.161)

15/03/2009
"[Rev 14:8]. A second angel announces that Fallen! Fallen is Babylon (cf. 18:2) ... This is the first mention 
of Babylon in this book (again in 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10,21); in every case Babylon is called 'great'. There is no 
reason for holding that John means the Mesopotamian city of this name (though he may well have in mind 
Je. 51:7-8). The first time the Bible mentions Babylon (Gn. 11:9; but cf. Gn. 10:10) we read that after the Flood 
people tried to scale the heights of heaven by building a mighty tower. The name thus stands for the pride 
of mankind and for the heathen city-empire. For John, Babylon is the great city, the symbol of mankind in 
community opposed to the things of God. ... The reason for her fall is her bad influence. She made all nations 
'drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication' (AV; again in 18:3; NIV has taken thymos in the sense 
maddening). John is combining two thoughts: first, that Babylon makes the nations drink the wine of her 
impurity (she corrupts them with her evil ways), and second, that this impurity brings down on it the wrath 
of God (cf. Je. 25:15)." (Morris, L.L., "The Book of Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary," The 
Tyndale New Testament commentaries, [1969], Inter-Varsity Press Leicester: UK, Second edition, 1987, 
Reprinted, 2004, pp.174-175)

15/03/2009
"[Rev 16:19] The great city is a motif we have seen before (see note on 11:8). It stands for civilized man, 
man in organized community but man ordering his affairs apart from God. It symbolizes the pride of human 
achievement, the godlessness of those who put their trust in man. This great city is now shattered. It 
divides into three parts, which means complete break-up. And in the break-up of the great city the cities 
of the nations collapsed. The one implies the other. With Babylon the Great we return to the theme of 
the great city. John tells us that this city 'was remembered before God' ... He visits his wrath on her (see note 
on 14:10). Nowhere in this book is there an expression as emphatic as that rendered the cup filled with the 
wine of the fury of his wrath. John leaves us in no doubt that Babylon is to receive the most whole-hearted 
opposition conceivable from an all-powerful and all-holy God." (Morris, L.L., "The Book of Revelation: An 
Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament commentaries, [1969], Inter-Varsity Press 
Leicester: UK, Second edition, 1987, Reprinted, 2004, pp.194-195)

15/03/2009
[Rev 17:5] ... The first part of the name is Babylon (see note on 14:8). Previously we have come across this 
city as a great city seducing all mankind, and the object of divine hostility (14:8; 16:1-9). Now we see her 
singled out as the mother of prostitutes. She is not only a prostitute herself, but she spawns evils like her 
own. With this is linked the abominations of the earth. As in verse 4, all kinds of abominable things are 
ascribed to the great city, and not one particular vice only." (Morris, L.L., "The Book of Revelation: An 
Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament commentaries, [1969], Inter-Varsity Press 
Leicester: UK, Second edition, 1987, Reprinted, 2004, pp.200-201)

15/03/2009
"[Rev 13:11-18] The second beast is the false prophet (19:20). It symbolizes false religion and false 
philosophy in whichever form these appear throughout the entire dispensation. Although this beast 
outwardly resembles the Lamb it inwardly conceals the dragon. 1 In other words, whatever strikes the eye is 
very appealing and attractive. The beast looks very innocent: a nice little lamb, a pet for the children. But 
speech reveals the inner thought, life, essence and character. And this lamb speaks like the devil himself! 
This second beast, accordingly, is the lie of Satan dressed up like the truth. It is Satan masquerading as a 
shining angel (2 Cor. 11:14). It symbolizes all false prophets in every era of this dispensation. They come 
disguised as sheep, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves (Mt. 7:15) The two beasts-antichristian 
government and antichristian religion-work in perfect co-operation. That is invariably the case." 
(Hendriksen, W., "More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation," Tyndale Press: 
London, 1940, Reprinted, 1966, p.148)

15/03/2009
"The Straw Man fallacy is committed when a person simply ignores a person's actual position and 
substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position. This sort of `reasoning' has 
the following pattern: Person A has position X. Person B presents position Y (which is a distorted version 
of X). Person B attacks position Y. Therefore X is false/incorrect/flawed. This sort of `reasoning' is fallacious 
because attacking a distorted version of a position simply does not constitute an attack on the position 
itself. One might as well expect an attack on a poor drawing of a person to hurt the person." ("Fallacy: Straw 
Man," The Nizkor Project, 15 March 2009. http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html)

19/03/2009
"[1Cor 1:2] It is possible that together with all those everywhere widens the salutation to include all 
Christians (Conzelmann sees a reference to 'the idea of the universal church'), and this is the most natural 
interpretation of the Greek. T. W. Manson takes 'every place' (topos) to mean 'every place of worship', as 
in some Jewish synagogue inscriptions.' But a strong objection to both is that the Epistle gives no sign of 
being a circular or a general manifesto. It sticks stubbornly to local issues. It is thus better to take the phrase 
closely with the preceding. The Corinthians are called to be holy, not as an isolated unit, but along with 
other people. It is unusual to have Christians described as those who call on the name of Christ (though it 
is readily intelligible). In the Old Testament people call on the name of Yahweh (Joel 2:32, etc.), so that in 
using the expression Paul is assigning the highest possible place to Christ." (Morris, L.L., "The First Epistle 
of Paul to the Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament commentaries, 
[1958], Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second edition, 1985, Reprinted, 1987, p.36)

19/03/2009
"[1Cor 1:8] The verb keep you strong is that translated 'was confirmed' in v. 6. Christ, who has enriched 
the Corinthians and given them grace and every good gift, is their guarantee that right through until the last 
time nothing will be lacking to them. The enriching with the Spirit's gifts is itself an assurance, a foretaste of 
the good things to come. Just as the end of time may be referred to as the 'revelation' of Christ (v. 7), so it 
may be spoken of as the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Old Testament looks for the coming of 'the day 
of the LORD' (Am. 5:18); the New sees this as the day of Christ. Here the thought is that because it is his 
day and because it is he who will 'guarantee' the Corinthians, they may be assured that they will be 
blameless in that day. No charge can be laid against those whom Christ guarantees (cf. Rom. 8:33)." 
(Morris, L.L., "The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale 
New Testament commentaries, [1958], Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second edition, 1985, Reprinted, 
1987, p.38)

24/03/2009
"[1Cor 1:31] There is nothing to justify boasting before God (v. 29), but we may boast in what Christ has 
done (cf. Gal. 6:14). Characteristically Paul proves his point from Scripture (Je. 9:23-24). In the Old Testament 
the words refer to Yahweh; no higher view could be taken of the Person of Christ." (Morris, L.L., "The First 
Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament 
commentaries, [1958], Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second edition, 1985, Reprinted, 1987, p.50)

25/03/2009
[1Cor 2:8] God's secret was not known by any way other than revelation. For all their eminence the rulers of 
this age did not know it, as is shown by the fact that they crucified Jesus (cf. Acts 3:17; 4:25-28, and Jesus' 
words, 'they do not know what they are doing', Lk. 23:34). Had they really understood who Jesus was and 
the consequent enormity of rejecting him, they would never have done what they did. The Lord of glory 
('the Lord whose essential attribute is glory', Ellicott) is an outstanding and unusual title, applied to Christ 
only here (though Jas. 2:1 is similar). The epithet of glory is applied to the Father (Acts 7:2; Eph. 1:17), and in 
the apocryphal Book of Enoch the expression the Lord of glory is used of God several times (22:14; 
25:3; 27:3-4; 63:2; 75:3). More than one scholar has thought that this is the loftiest title Paul ever applied to 
Christ. It stands fitly alongside the application to him of words originally referring to Yahweh (1:31). Both 
show that Paul habitually assigned to Christ the highest place of all." (Morris, L.L., "The First Epistle of Paul 
to the Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament commentaries, [1958], 
Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second edition, 1985, Reprinted, 1987, p.55)

25/03/2009
[1Cor 2:16. This impossibility is shown by a question quoted from Isaiah 40:13. Paul has already spoken of 
the impossibility of knowing 'the things of God' (v. 11). Then his concern was to show that the Spirit does 
indeed have complete knowledge of 'the depths of God', and that is relevant here. As none but the Spirit 
knows these depths it is clearly impossible for the natural man to have knowledge of the person in whom is 
the Spirit, and who therefore, in a sense, shares in the divine (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4). It is because of this that Paul can 
make the bold assertion that we (the pronoun is emphatic) have the mind of Christ. He does not mean 
that every Christian can understand all Christ's thoughts. He means that the indwelling Spirit reveals Christ. 
The spiritual person accordingly does not see things from the viewpoint of the worldly. He sees them from 
the viewpoint of Christ. Notice that the question in Isaiah 40:13 refers to the mind of Yahweh. But Paul 
moves easily to the mind of Christ, so closely does he associate the two." (Morris, L.L., "The First Epistle 
of Paul to the Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary," The Tyndale New Testament commentaries, 
[1958], Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester UK, Second edition, 1985, Reprinted, 1987, pp.60-61)

25/03/2009
"[1Cor 2:16] The quotation is from Is. 40:13. The word mind, which is not found in the context, is here 
used because it was in the Greek text of Is. 40. It introduces far the first time an anthropomorphic expression 
with reference to God and follows quite properly after the use of `to judge,' which implies an activity of the 
discriminating mind. Perhaps Paul chose this quotation precisely because of the use of the word `mind' in it. 
The spiritual man, who received the Spirit, is thereby enabled to judge or not to judge. For of the Spirit, who 
is God, it is true that nobody knows His mind to instruct Him. This Spirit works in the spiritual man. No 
natural man can understand, or even judge, the work of God in the spiritual man. The last words of the verse 
show how God works in those who are spiritual. The mind of the Lord is unsearchable; as members of 
Christ we participate through Him in the mind of God. We have the mind of Christ, and consequently also 
the mind of the Lord, for Christ is the Lord and much of what the Old Testament says of the Lord Jehovah 
must be applied to Christ (cf. 3:23; 11 :3; Rom. 8:5f., 14f.) " (Grosheide, F.W., "Commentary on the First 
Epistle to the Corinthians," [1953], The New London Commentary on the New Testament," Marshall, 
Morgan & Scott: London, Second edition, 1954, pp.74-75)

[top]