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The Mystery Years of “The Judge”

Joseph Franklin Rutherford in Missouri

To begin, many people know of Jehovah’s Witnesses who entrust their doctrinal interpretations to the Governing Body of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, but few know a great deal about the Watchtower Society’s second President, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and, until now, very few have known about can be termed the Mystery Years of Joseph F Rutherford in Missouri, which came prior to his becoming the Watchtower President.  Therefore this article was researched and written during March 1998-August 2000.

Just as the Watchtower history, the Proclaimers book, states Joseph Franklin Rutherford was born November 8, 1869.  It further notes that he entered college when sixteen although not saying which college (there were several in the area), says he was under the tutelage of a Judge E.L. Edwards whom Missouri handbooks indicate had been a state supreme court justice.  Consulting the history and other works shows that in 1889 when twenty years old he was made an official court reporter, and he obtained a license to practice law on May 5, 1892.

His parents, according to the Catholic priest Rev Richard Felix who lived in the same Missouri county and wrote the booklet Rutherford Exposed (Our Faith Press, Pilot Grove, MO) were “honest, hardworked, respected” people.  They were James Calvin Rutherford and Lenora Strickland Rutherford who lived nearly fifty years on a small farm 3 ½ miles north of Versailles.  Ironically, given the later anti-democratic ploys of their son Joseph, they were active in a church less than a mile from the farm which was called the Freedom Baptist Church.  The father died July 11, 1912.  Rutherford’s mother died October 9, 1926.  There is no indication whether either parent left the Baptists and in fact both were buried in a small cemetery near their church.  His mother was a pensioned blind invalid the last three years of her life and Rutherford preached at her funeral.

Rutherford had seven siblings.  His oldest brother was W.P. Rutherford who died in the West, possibly California, a few years before Felix’s book was printed in 1937.  Sisters who were deceased at that time were Mrs Flora Chism, Mrs Lena McDaniels and Mrs Anna Neville.  Mrs Ella Newkirk of Tipton and Mrs Virginia Ross of Versailles were then alive as was a younger brother, James B. Rutherford who then lived in Kansas City.  The Proclaimers history mentions that Rutherford’s wife Mary died on or about December 17, 1962 in California where Rutherford sometimes wintered at the Beth Sarim mansion.  A surviving son was Malcolm.  He or more likely a descendant of his with a similar name may still be alive though not on the West Coast.  Mary was a practising JW but no indication is given that Malcolm was.  Quite possibly future researchers would find pictures and memoirs pertaining to JF Rutherford in the possession of descendants of such family members.

As said, Rutherford was sometimes an official Court Stenographer at Versailles (see Circuit Court Book 12, page 416) as well as in Boonville. (Book 19, page 181)  The Cooper County Court record Book 19 on page 84 says he was familiar enough with legal forms and procedures that he was admitted to the Boonville bar on May 5, 1892 although not registered at any Law School accredited in Missouri. In the state when a Presiding Judge was absent the bar picked a local attorney to fill in as a substitute judge. This occurred fours times in his own case.  Each time it was for only a day. Twice there were no trials that he presided over and on the other two occasions he presided over only minor trials.  Therefore his sometimes being called “Judge” Rutherford is rather misleading.

Rutherford was cited for contempt of court on at least three occasions.  Proof of this is found in Morgan County Book 13, page 251 for August 8,1894 and Cooper County Book 2,page 376 on May 15,1895.   His worst known impropriety in law during the Missouri years was recorded in Permanent File #5113 of the Cooper County Circuit Court dated February 4, 1896 and involved a case heard by Judge Dorsey W. Shackleford.  Rutherford was representing the National Cash Register Company against David Nicholson of Boonville. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1994, the NCRC was acquired by AT&T, only to be spun off again within a few years.  His representing the NCRC thus seems ironic in that he later would inveigh against all Big Businesses except for his own as manifested in his iron control of the Watchtower Society.

To continue, after Nicholson had levied a writ of attachement on a cash register machine that had been used at the saloon of Charley Derstetter, a deputy constable named Wright went to seize the machine but Rutherford met him at the saloon, held papers before Wright and told him that if Wright would go to see William Muir Williams the attorney representing Nicholson and who later became a state supreme court judge, then Williams would confirm that Rutherford held possession of the machine.  Wright left the machine to speak with attorney Williams and upon returning found that machine gone. Rutherford then lied that the machine had been sent on to Sedalia, Missouri, for deputy Wright found it “concealed” in a second office beneath some papers.

The court ruled against the National Cash Register Company which had the case appealed but it lost on appeal too as is shown by examination of Missouri Appeal Reports Volume 68, page 441 c.p.447.  And, of course, the Watchtower history, Proclaimers, never even hints at this early scandal.  Another point deserving further inquiry is whether or not Rutherford was a prosecuting attorney in the strict sense of the title.  Missouri state handbooks are also called “the Blue Books” and when those are examined for the years 1893 through 1902 they show that the Cooper County prosecuting attorneys were Ernest R Hayden, C.D. Corum and Ernest Chambers.  This does not entirely rule out his having substituted in such a function and acting in a prosecutorial or pugnacious manner; hence the issue is still unclear and for other researchers to resolve.   During Rutherford’s years in Missouri as well as today in 1999, if one is a county’s prosecuting attorney then this means he has been elected as such for a two year term.  Cooper County’s elected officials during the Rutherford years were most all Democrats.

Another interesting issue is that the Proclaimers book notes that Rutherford was first contacted in 1894 when he was twenty-four by two traveling peddlers for the Watchtower Society who were then called colporteurs.  He bought some of their books and wrote an appreciative letter to the Society and yet he was not baptized a JW until twelve years later in 1906 at age 36.  Then a mere one year later he went off to the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, to serve as legal counselor.  Proclaimers notes that he was admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court bar in May 1909.  After the death of the Society’s founding President Charles Taze Russell on October 31, 1916, a Halloween, Rutherford became the next President, wrestled power from opposing board members, deleted all democratically-elected elders. Membership plunged until he compelled those who remained to recruit extensively from door-to-door.  His death occurred January 8, 1942 in San Diego.

One work in particular stands out from his early years in Missouri, and it may well have foreshadowed his later taking control of  the Society which, beyond the fact that it served as a promoter of religious ideas, was and is even more concretely a publishing firm for religious materials.  He compiled a 128 page work called “Laws Of Missouri. Compilation of the Laws and Legal Forms for the Convenience of Farmers and Mechanics Merchants And Bankers. Business Manual” (title spelled as it actually appears) which was printed by Stahl & Stahl.  A date is not included on his work but the publishers’ preface states that he was then “one of the leading members of the Boonville bar.”  The book was well-organized and roughly half of it consisted of advertisements from Boonville merchants. This must have realized quite a profit and showed him that there was much money in publishing.  Today the book is a genuine collectors’ item seldom seen even within Missouri.

Rutherford’s actual burial site is officially given as on the East Coast but this too is uncertain.  Another mystery is whether he was also a Mason, which is not an insignificant issue at all in view of the fact that much evidence exists that the Watchtower Society’s first President, founder CT Russell, was also a Mason.  Therefore this writer concludes by expressing hope that other persons who have access to directories listing the Masons in Missouri will pursue this additional mystery as I myself am no longer able to return to my sources and hereby express sincere appreciation to Randy Watters and others who may also publish on their websites and elsewhere what I was able to find out.

A few final remarks about my sources. These were during early 1998 to August 2000.  As one might expect the best locations for the materials about JF Rutherford were found in and around his home town, Boonville, in central Missouri.  Further, state historical societies in St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri (UMC-Columbia), proved fruitful, being repositories for example of the Richard Felix booklet on Rutherford’s family and the Rutherford laws-with-advertising compilation.  The involved court records are stored in his home county courthouse as well as in Kansas City, Missouri.  And, as stated, the Watchtower itself has published passing, if biased, comments about him in its Proclaimers publication and various other works for many decades.

I was especially impressed by the vehemence with which his efforts against American troops during World War I were denounced in editorials including in the Boonville area publications.  It is highly interesting too that others have lambasted Rutherford for encouraging or directing the smuggling of alcoholic drink into his Brooklyn headquarters during the Prohibition era, turning a blind eye to homosexual activities which only partly declined during the tenure of his successor, Nathan Knorr, and even noted that a brothel was run for the headquarters “Bethelite” men during his time of control. (Barbara Grizutti)  Unfortunately, due to health and age constraints, I am no longer able to pursue research efforts into any of these avenues but invite others to do so.  There are simply too many intriguing loose ends and side-mysteries that linger.

Respectfully,
W. Hagen

Who Was Jesus?

There may be no greater debated Christian theology than who Jesus actually was. Why, even during the First Century, Christians apparently argued this subject, for John (the Apostle) says at 2 John 1:7, ‘Many have strayed [back] into the world and won’t admit that Jesus the Anointed One came in the flesh. These who have strayed are the Antichrists.’ So, even at that early date, there was some question as to whom Jesus was, and even if he ever existed. That is why John in his latter years devoted so much of his writing to this subject.

The name Jesus is a Greek pronunciation of the name Joshua. In fact, in the Septuagint translation, Joshua is called Jesus (Iesus). The first part of the name (Je or Jo) is a shortened form of Jehovah. The second part of the name (sus or shua) means savior or salvation. So, depending on the point that individuals are trying to make, the name has been rendered as either Jehovah is Salvation, or, Jehovah Savior.

It is interesting that Aramaic texts say that Jesus was really named EliAzar, but he was called Jesus. This could be true, for it is in line with the words of God’s messenger to Mary, that ‘he should be called Jesus.’ And the name EliAzar (meaning God has Helped) is very similar to the other name that Jesus was to be given, Immanuel (God is With Us).

During the centuries following the deaths of the Apostles, Christians continued to argue the nature of Jesus. This resulted in a great theological debate, which ended in the formation and adoption of what is called ‘the Trinity Doctrine.’ In this teaching, which is often referred to as a ‘Divine Mystery,’ Jesus is said to be a part of a three-person Godhead – one of the three personalities of God – that consists of ‘the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.’ This doctrine was first accepted by the Catholic (or Universal) Church in the  Fourth Century Council of Nicaea, and was then adopted into many Protestant religions as they spun off from Catholicism in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. In this teaching, Jesus isn’t referred to as the Son of God, but as God the Son.

Of course, not all Christian religions have adopted the Trinity doctrine. And as the result, many other teachings have emerged. Some believe that Jesus is simply (as he said) a son of God. However, others believe that he is in fact the same person as Jehovah God of what they call ‘the Old Testament.’ So, no trinity is implied.

Even among those who believe that Jesus is just a son of God, there is further disagreement. Some believe that he was once a mighty spirit son of God whose life was transferred (by God) into a human fetus, so that he was born a human. Others think of him as a ‘god-man’ or an ‘angel-man’ (superhuman), and there are those who think he just came into existence when he was born as a human. To find out which, if any, of these teachings is true, let’s look at some of the scriptures that bear on this subject.

Was God Jesus’ Father?

Matthew 1:20-23, ‘What has been fathered in her is from [God’s] Holy Breath. She will give birth to a son and you will call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. This whole thing happened so that what was spoken by Jehovah through the prophet would be fulfilled: {Look!} The virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel (which translates as, God is with us).’

Matthew 3:16, 17, ‘After being baptized, Jesus came up out of the water. Then {look!} the heavens opened and he saw God’s Breath coming down on him like a dove. And {look!} there was a voice that came from the sky, which said, This is my loved Son and I’m very pleased with him.’

Matthew 16:15-17, ‘Then [Jesus] asked: ‘But, who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered: ‘You are the Anointed One, the Son of the living God.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘You are blest, Simon son of Jonah, because this wasn’t shown to you by flesh and blood, by my Father in the heavens.’

Matthew 26:63, 64, ‘By the living God, I put you under oath to tell us whether you are the Anointed One, the Son of God!’ And Jesus answered: ‘You said it yourself!’

Luke 2:49, ‘But he replied, Why did you have to search for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in the [House] of my Father?’

Luke 22:69, 70, ‘However, from now on the Son of Man will be sitting at the powerful right hand of God.’ Well, at this, they all asked, ‘So, are you the Son of God?’ And he said, ‘You yourselves are saying that I am.’

John 1:34, ‘I have seen it and I testified to the fact that this is the Son of God.’

John 19:7, ‘We have a law. And according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself God’s Son.’

2 Corinthians 1:3, ‘May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed One, the Father of mercy and the God of all comfort, be blest.

Where Was the Father When Jesus Was On Earth?

Matthew 7:11, ‘So, if you in your wickedness know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?’

Matthew 10:32, 33, ‘For everyone who admits that they are with me in front of men, I will admit that I’m with them in front of my Father in the heavens. But for whoever denies knowing me in front of men, I will also deny knowing him in front of my Father in the heavens.’

Matthew 11:25-27, ‘It was concerning this that Jesus prayed: I praise You publicly Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have uncovered them to the childlike. Yes, Father, this is the way You approved. My Father has given everything to me. And nobody really knows the Son like his Father, nor does anyone really know the Father but the Son (and anyone else who the Son is willing to show Him to).’

Matthew 11:50, ‘Whoever does all that my Father in heaven wishes, is my brother, sister, and mother.’

John 12:27, ‘Now, I am deeply disturbed. What should I say: Father, save me from this hour? That’s why I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your Name!’ Then a voice came out of the sky, ‘I glorified it and will glorify it again.’

Was Jesus Human or Spirit?

Psalm 40:6, ‘Sacrifices and offerings You have not wanted, so You prepared a body for me.’

Matthew 9:6, ‘I want you to know that the Son of Man has the power to forgive sins here on the earth.’

Matthew 22:41-45, ‘Now, while the Pharisees were all there in front of him, Jesus asked, What do you believe about the Anointed One? Whose son is he? They replied, David’s. So, he said, Then, why did David (through the Breath [of God]), call him Lord, saying, Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet? If David called him Lord, how can he be his son?’

Luke 22:22, ‘The Son (who is for a fact from men) is going the way that was marked out for him.’

Hebrews 2:9, ‘He was made a little lower than [God’s] messengers. And it was because he suffered and died that he was crowned with glory and honor.’

Hebrews 2:16, 17, ‘So, [when he came], he really didn’t take on [the shape] of one of [God’s] messengers somewhere, but he took [the shape of] Abraham’s seed. He was obligated to become like his brothers in every way, so he could become a merciful and faithful High Priest before God and offer a sacrifice to cover over peoples’ sins.’

Where Did Jesus Come From?

John 1:1-3, ‘In an ancient time there was the Word. The Word was with God and the Word was Powerful. He was with God long ago. Everything came into existence through him. Life came into existence through him and the life was the light of men.’

John 1:15, ‘John witnessed about him. He’s the one who said it; he yelled it out loud, The one coming behind me has come before me, because he was first, before I was.’

John 1:18, ‘The only-created god (gr. monogenes theos), who is the Father’s favorite [son], has explained him.’

John 1:29, 30, ‘The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look! The Lamb of God who lifts sin from the world! This is the one I meant when I said, The one coming behind me has come before me, because he was first, before I was.’

John 5:30, ‘I’m not looking to do the things that I want, but to do the will of Him who sent me.’

John 5:36-38, ‘I am doing the work that my Father assigned me to finish. These are the things that testify about me [and prove] that the Father sent me. Why, even the Father who sent me has testified about me. You’ve never heard His voice or seen His shape and His words don’t stick with you, because you don’t believe the one who He sent.’

John  6:37, 38, ‘Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I won’t reject anyone who comes to me, 38 because I didn’t come from heaven to do my will, but [to do] the will of the One who sent me.

John 6:57, ‘The living Father sent me and I live because of the Father.’

John 7:28, 29, ‘He who sent me is real and you don’t know Him. I know Him, because I came from Him, and because He sent me here.’

John 8:26, ‘The One who sent me is truthful, and I’m telling the world the things that I heard from Him.’

John 8:29, ‘The One who sent me is with me. He didn’t send me off alone, because I always do things to please Him.’

John 8:42, ‘If God were your Father you would love me, because I came here from God. I didn’t come here on my own. He sent me.’

John 8:58, ‘I tell you the truth, I existed before Abraham was born.’

John 13:3, 4, ‘And knowing that the Father had put everything in his hands, and that he came from God and was returning to God, he got up from the meal and laid his outer clothing aside.’

John 16:27, 28, ‘The Father cares for you, because you cared for me and you believed that I came as the Father’s representative. I am from the Father and I came into the world. I am also leaving the world and returning to the Father.’

John 17:4-8, ‘I have glorified You on the earth and perfectly completed the work that You assigned to me. So, now Father, glorify me beside You with the glory that I had beside You before there was a world. I have made Your Name shine among the men You gave me from the world. They were Yours, but You gave them to me, and they have obeyed Your words. They now realize that everything You gave me came from You, because I passed along to them all the things that You told me, and they welcomed them. They know it as a fact, that I came as Your representative and they believe that You sent me.

Colossians 1:13-18, ‘He drew us to himself from out of the power of darkness, and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love. And the ransom price, which frees us from our sins, has been paid through him. He’s the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (gr. protokos pases ktiseos – first/taken all creation). Through him, everything in heaven and on the earth was created, both the things that are visible and those that are invisible. Everything has been created through him and for him, regardless of whether they are thrones, or rulerships, or governments, or powers. He was before everything and everything came into existence through him. He’s the head of the body of the congregation. He’s the earliest and the first one to be born from the dead, so that he would be first in everything.’

Hebrews 5:5, 6, ‘Now, Moses was truly a faithful attendant over His whole House, as a witness to things that hadn’t been explained yet, while the Anointed One was a Son in His House.’

Revelation 3:14, ‘And write this to the messenger of the congregation in Laodicea, ‘This is what the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the earliest creation of God (gr. he arche tes ktisios tou Theou – the ancient of/the creation of/the God)’

Why Did Jesus Come Here?

Matthew 20:28, ‘This is how the Son of Man came, not to be served, but to serve and to give his living body as a ransom for many.’

Matthew 21:9 ‘Part of the crowd walked ahead of him and those who followed were shouting: [God] save the Son of David! Praise the one who comes in [Jehovah’s] name! May [God] in the highest places save him!’

Luke 1:31-33, ‘{Look!} You will get pregnant and give birth to a son who you are to name Jesus. He will be great and he will be called the Son of the Most High, and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over the house of Jacob into the ages and there will be no end to his Kingdom.’

John 3:16, 17, ‘This is how God loved the world: He gave His only-created Son so that everyone who believes in him won’t be destroyed, but will have life through the ages. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge it, but for the world to be saved through him.’

John 3:35, 36, ‘The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything into his hands. The one who believes the Son has life for the age. The one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, because God remains angry with him.’

John 5:19-23, ‘Then Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, the Son can’t do anything on his own, other than what he sees the Father doing. Whatever [the Father] does is what the Son does. And because the Father cares about the Son, he shows him everything he does. Besides, [God] will show him greater works than these, just to amaze you. As the Father raises the dead and makes them alive, the Son can also make whoever he wishes alive. And the Father doesn’t judge anyone, but he has left all the judging to the Son, so that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him.’

John 5:26, ‘For just as the Father has life in himself, he has also given the Son life in himself and authorized him to do judging. This is because he is the Son of Man.’

John 6:37, ‘Everything that the Father gives me will come to me. I won’t reject anyone who comes to me, because I didn’t come from heaven to do my will, but [to do] the will of the One who sent me.’

Hebrews 4:14, 15, ‘So, in view of the fact that we have a great High Priest who has passed up through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s keep talking about him. We don’t have a High Priest that can’t sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tested in every way, just like us (however, [he didn’t] sin).’

Hebrews 7:22, ‘So, Jesus has become the promise of a better Sacred Agreement.’

How Did He Get Here?

John 1:14, ‘So, the Expression became flesh and lived among us; and we saw his glory, the glory of the only one born to a Father’ (gr. doxan hos monogenous para patros, or, glory as only/generated next/to father).

Philippians 2:5-11, ‘Keep this attitude in you that the Anointed One Jesus had: Although he once existed in the same shape as God, he didn’t consider trying to make himself equal to God (gr. oux harpagmon hegesato to einai isa Theo, or, not snatching he/considered the to/be equal God). Rather, he emptied himself into the shape of a slave and became a man. And when he found himself shaped as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient until his death; yes, death on a pole. This is why God promoted him to a superior position (gr. Theos auton upperrupsosen, or, God him put/high/over) and kindly gave him the title that is over all others. So, in the name of Jesus, every knee in heaven, on earth and under the ground should bend, and every tongue should confess that Jesus the Anointed One is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Is Jesus Just Another Personality of God?

Matthew 23:9-10, ‘And don’t address anyone on earth as Father, because there’s just one who is your Father, the heavenly One. Nor should you be called Leaders, because you only have one Leader, the Anointed One.’

Matthew 24:36, ‘Nobody knows the day and hour – no, not the messengers of heaven or the Son, but only the Father.’

Matthew 26:39, ‘And going a little way forward, he fell on his face praying and said, ‘My Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from me; however, not my will, but Yours.’

Matthew 26:53, ‘Why, don’t you think that I can ask my Father to send more than twelve legions of messengers immediately?’

Matthew 27:46, ‘Jesus called out in a loud voice: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, My God, my God, why have you let me down?’

Luke 4:6-8, ‘Then the Slanderer said, I will give you power over all of these and the glory of them, because they’ve been given to me and I can give them to whoever I wish. They will all be yours, if you will just bow in front of me.’ But Jesus answered, ‘It’s written, you must worship Jehovah your God. He’s the only One you should worship.’

Luke 6:12 ‘It was around that time that he went up a mountain to pray, spending the whole night in prayer to God.’

Luke 18:19, ‘Jesus replied, ‘Why do you call me good? Nobody is good except one, God.’

Luke 23:34, ‘Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing,’

John 3:45 ‘Don’t think that I’m going to accuse you to the Father. He who accuses you is Moses.’

John 6:27, ‘The Son of Man . . . was sealed by the God and Father.’

John 6:44, 45, ‘Nobody can come to me unless the Father who sent me attracts him and I will resurrect him on the last day. The Prophets wrote, They will all be taught by God. So, everyone who listens to the Father and learns comes to me.’

John 6:46, ‘Of course, no one has seen the Father other than the one who was with God. This one has seen the Father.’

John 14:28, ‘You heard me tell you that I’m going away and I am coming back to you. If you loved me, you would cry out in joy that I am going to the Father, because, the Father is greater than I am.’

John 20:17, ‘Jesus said to her, Don’t touch me, because I haven’t ascended to the Father yet. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’

Acts 2:24-26, ‘But God resurrected him, freeing him from the cords of death, because it wasn’t possible for [death] to hold him. David said this about him, I have put Jehovah in front of me always. Since He’s at my right hand, I will never be shaken. Because, my heart is cheerful and my tongue is rejoicing, my body will rest in hope. You won’t abandon me in the grave, and you won’t allow your loyal one to rot. You’ve shown me the ways of life and you will fill me with joy as I look at your face.’

Acts 2:34-36, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I set your enemies as a stool for your feet. So, let the entire House of Israel know for sure, that God made Jesus (who you impaled) the Lord and Anointed One.’

1 Corinthians 15:24, 28, ‘Then, in the end, after he has brought all governments, authorities, and powers to nothing, he will hand over the Kingdom to his God and Father. However, after everything has been put under him, then the Son will submit to the One who put everything under him, so God can be everything to everyone.’

Ephesians 1:20-23, ‘He raised him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavens, far above every government, authority, power, lordship, and every name that has been given not only in this age, but also in the one that’s coming. He has put everything under his feet and made him the head over everything to the congregation (his body), to fill him with everything that belongs to the One who does the filling.’

Hebrews 1:2-4, ‘In the last part of these days, He spoke to us through a Son who he made the heir to everything… the one that he used to create this era. He shines with the same glory, is the exact image of His being, and He is responsible for everything that’s said through His power. And after he cleansed us of our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Great One in the highest places. He has become so much greater than the [other] messengers [of God] and so different, that he has inherited a [special] name among them.’

Revelation 1:1, ‘A revelation that God gave to Jesus the Anointed One, to show his slaves the things that must soon happen.’

Revelation 6:2, ‘At that {look!}, I saw a white horse, and the one who was sitting on it had a bow. He was given a crown and he came out to conquer and to complete his victory.

What Scriptures are Used to Support the Trinity?

Matthew 28:19, ‘So, go and make disciples from all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and [God’s] Holy Breath.’ (Note that this scripture may well be spurious. For more information, see the Note Matthew 28:19).

John 8:18, 19, ‘I testify about myself and the Father who sent me testifies about me.’ Then they asked, ‘Where is your Father?’ And Jesus answered, ‘You don’t know me or my Father. If you knew me you would also know my Father.’

John 10:25-30, ‘The things that I am doing in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe it because [none of] you are my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I will give them life for the ages, and none will be destroyed in this era, nor will anyone take them out of my hands. My Father who gave them to me is greater than everyone and nobody can take them out of the hands of the Father. The Father and I are united.’

John 10:36-38, ‘How can you tell me (one who was made holy and sent into the world by the Father) that I blaspheme, because I say I am God’s Son? If I’m not doing what my Father wants, don’t believe me. But if I am doing that, even if you don’t believe me, believe in what I am doing. Then you will come to know (and keep knowing) that the Father is one with me and I am united with the Father.’

John 12:44, ‘Whoever believes in me doesn’t just believe in me alone, but in the One who sent me. And whoever sees me also sees the One who sent me.’

John 14:6-10, ‘And Jesus replied, I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Nobody comes to the Father unless it is through me. If you men had known me, you would have recognized my Father also. From now on, you have known him and have seen him. Then Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ And Jesus said, ‘Have I spent so much time with you, and yet, you haven’t come to know me Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So, why are you saying, Show us the Father? Don’t you believe that I am in unity with the Father and the Father is in unity with me?

John 14:20, ‘In that day, you will know that I am in unity with my Father, you are in unity with me, and I am in unity with you.’

John 17:22-24, ‘I have also given them the glory that You gave me, so they can be in unity as we are in unity, I in them and You in me. In this way, they can be perfected into one, so the world may know that You sent me and that You love them just as You love me. Father, as to what You have given me: I want them to be where I am, so they can see the glory that You gave me, because You have loved me from before the founding of the world.’

Acts 4:12, ‘Salvation doesn’t come from anyone else, because there isn’t another name which has been given to any man under heaven that we need to save us.’

So, Who Was Jesus?

Matthew 16:15-17 ‘Then [Jesus] asked, But who would you say that I am? Simon Peter answered: You’re the Anointed, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus said to him, You are blest, Simon son of Jonah, because this wasn’t shown to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in the heavens.

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