Sabbath 5/1/33/120

Dear Friends,

One of the factors that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that most people in the churches of God are unaware of their history and the fact that the early church was Biblical Unitarian. Most people today do not even know the clear and explicit distinction between Biblical and Radical Unitarians.  The ignorance is understandable because the ministry of the churches of God do not understand their own history and do not know what a Biblical Unitarian is. If they did they would repent immediately and commence teaching the truth.

Somehow the churches of God have been convinced to accept the great heresy of the Second Century CE and believe and teach that Christ was co-eternal with the One True God who sent him. Virtually all of the offshoots of the Armstrong system and the Churches of God (Seventh Day) and the US Seventh Day Baptists teach this heresy.

So that the churches of God can be very clear on the distinctions between a Biblical Unitarian and a Radical Unitarian we will list and explain them.

The origins of Radical Unitarianism and Binitarianism are explained in the paper Origins of Radical Unitarianism and Binitarianism (No. 76C). Most of the churches of God in the US and in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa now believe and teach that there were two true Gods from the beginning, one of which was Jesus Christ and the other was God the Father.   They somehow seem to think they were more righteous than the Trinitarians because they refused to accept that the Holy Spirit was a person. They taught this nonsense because Herbert Armstrong began the rot in the RCG/WCG teaching what was in fact Ditheism and not Binitarianism. His errors are explained in the paper Ditheism (No. 76B).

Most of the churches of God are so theologically misguided that they do not understand that there are two completely diverse forms of Unitarianism and that the earlier form called Biblical Unitarianism is the original doctrine of the Christian Faith and that taught by the Bible and by Christ and the Apostles. In spite of the fact that CCG published its Statement of Beliefs from the very beginning and has not varied its position on the Nature of God some of the offshoots still believe that a Biblical Unitarian denies the pre-existence of Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth. A Biblical Unitarian holds the Nature of God to be paramount and that the pre-existence of Christ is a fundamental truth of the Bible (see the paper The Pre-existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243)). Indeed a Biblical Unitarian finds this doctrine so fundamental that one cannot truly be a Christian unless one believes in the pre-existence of Christ. 

It is on this ground that the distinction between Biblical and Radical Unitarians turns.

Radical Unitarianism

Radical Unitarianism teaches that Christ had no pre-existence prior to his insemination in the womb of the Virgin Mariam. In effect they teach that Christ came into existence from this incarnation. They teach that he was an idea in the mind of God until this event and had no independent or indeed any existence other than conceptual existence.

This idea did not achieve prominence until the commencement of the Reformation and the Unitarian movement associated with that system. These are the Unitarians that are extremely disjointed in their beliefs. They are not, and have nothing to do with, Biblical Unitarians. In general they do not follow the laws of God.

Biblical Unitarians 

On the other hand Biblical Unitarians hold the following beliefs to be true and inalienable.

1. There is only one True God, Eloah who is God and Father of All.
2. There are multiple sons of God, all of whom were present at the foundation of the Earth and some of whom were Morning Stars (Job 1:6, 2:1; 38:4-7).
3. The name of God and the identification of His son who became the Christ are fundamental to the faith and are the identifying questions posed by Scripture that any Biblical Unitarian is expected to be able to answer.  If you cannot answer this question then you are not a true Christian: Who hath ascended into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in His fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is His name and what is His son’s name, if thou canst tell? (Prov. 30:4)

 
This is the test question of one of the elect and it was asked by Solomon the son of David speaking in the Spirit. The answers were known from the OT. The name of the One True God is provided in the text itself. The text answers the first element of the question in the very next line.
Every word of GOD is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him (Prov. 30:5).

If you had a Companion Bible you would know the answer. The word for God used in the text is ELOAH. 

This word is not plural, as is the word elohim which refers to the multiple sons of God as an extended being under Ha Elohim or The Elohim who is Eloah.

The word Eloah admits of no plurality whatsoever. Anyone who does not understand the fact that there is only one True God is in heresy.

A Biblical Unitarian does not accept that Jesus Christ was Co-eternal or Co-equal with the Father Eloah. There is only ONE TRUE GOD and He is the Father of all.

It is a biblical fact that Jesus Christ has a God, who is his Father (Jn. 20:17).  It is also a matter of logic that he who has a God is not absolute God.  Only Eloah is absolute God whose first act of creation was the generation of His spirit-sons through the power of His Holy Spirit.  From the resurrection, it is Jesus Christ who was elevated by his Father above his companions thus fulfilling Psalm 45:6-7 and confirmed in Hebrews 1:9 to be Jesus Christ.  The companions of Christ are all the spirit-sons of God who form the armies of Heaven (Rev.19:11-14).

In order for the elect to have eternal life they must understand this fact. They must know that eternal life is to know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.   

A Biblical Unitarian regards anyone who teaches that Jesus Christ is co-equal or co-eternal with the Father Eloah as a heretic and an idolater.

If you do not understand that Eloah is the One True God and the object of worship at the Temple which is His Temple and the place of teaching His law by His priests then you are in serious trouble.

The text from Ezra 4:24 to Ezra 7:26 shows that the name Eloah is used in reference to the name of God in dealing with the Temple which is the Temple of Eloah, The Law of Eloah, the Worship of Eloah, the Priesthood of Eloah in the House of Eloah which was commanded to be built by authority of Eloah. What is so hard to understand about that? Are the ministry of the churches of God entirely stupid? Have they no understanding or wisdom? Can’t they afford a Companion Bible to identify each of the words used and translated as God? Each of the names is in different print to enable a person not familiar with Hebrew to understand. The Restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah was to this understanding also as the wording of the texts show.

Monotheism means a belief in One True God. Elohim is not a “uni-plural” word.  It is a plural word which means “gods” and is an extended order of beings all of whom are the Creation of Eloah who extended himself to become Ha Elohim. He is the object as The GOD when such phrases are used.

There are various names for God in both the Bible and the Qur’an. The Qur’an uses the Arabic name Allah’ which is entirely singular and admits of no plurality whatsoever. It is “the power” which is God.

There is no excuse for ignorance in regard to the names of God and the position of Jesus Christ.

The NT preserves a distinction in the Koine Greek of Ho Theos or Theon and Theos without the definite article. Whenever The God is referred to it is Ho Theos or The God. Trinitarians conceal this distinction.

The names of God are explained in the papers The Etymology of the Name of God (No. 220); and The Name of God in Islam (No. 054).   

Being ignorant of the facts of the matter does not get you into the First Resurrection.  It will merely ensure that you are in the Second Resurrection. Relying on a minister whose sole claim to fame was that he survived the Armstrong brainwashing course or went along with the COG (SD) decision to become a Binitarian heretic without questioning it because he did not know any better will count for nothing when you stand before Christ. Some of the elect may get the opportunity to stand before him in the Second Resurrection not knowing they have been left in the grave for the entire thousand years of the Millennium. It is a bit late when you are standing in a physical body with no transformation and you missed the whole Millennium and have to start again for the next one hundred years. Then you will know what weeping and gnashing of teeth means.   It will be even worse for the Sardis system and the Laodiceans who are still alive when the Messiah comes and they are sent out of the Marriage Supper because they have a soiled wedding garment and not only have to go to the Second Resurrection but also have to live through the establishment of the Millennium as well.

Try and tell Christ then that there were two true Gods and you were only doing him a favour elevating him to the rank of the One True God, which was the sin of Satan. These ministers of the churches of God that teach Ditheism or Binitarianism are accusing Christ of the sin of Satan and are leading the brethren astray.

They are in error and because they are in error does not mean that the elect have to sit silently by while they destroy the hopes and faith of the rest of the churches of God.  Is it not written: Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame (1Cor. 15:34).

Look at what God has done this last year in the restoration of the elect. Only the US and the Sardis infected countries that allowed themselves to be brainwashed by those elements are still in a coma and their spiritual lives are at risk.

Wake up and study the doctrines of the faith and open your eyes to the truth. There is only ONE TRUE GOD, ELOAH and He sent Jesus Christ. Understanding that is eternal life (Jn. 17:3).

Wade Cox