Did Yeshua claim to be Elohim?
During my walk with Yeshua I have heard many questions about the divinity of Yeshua and others saying that He is not the Son of The All Mighty YHWH. Former believers in The Messiah walked away from the faith over doubts about who He was and that He could not have been raised from the dead. Muslims think Yeshua is a prophet and that He never claimed to be Elohim. So let us examine scripture to see if Yeshua ever claimed to be Elohim and some events that occurred by eye witnesses to prove that He is the one true living Messiah and The Son YHWH Elohim of Israel.
Let us examine the scriptures of what Yeshua said about His divinity:
In John 8:56-58 Yeshua says:
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, You are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham? Yeshua said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”
The words of Yeshua are powerful because He just told us that He existed in The Old Testament before He became flesh and walked the earth. He told us that He met and spoke to Abraham and Abraham rejoiced His day. The last part of Yeshua’s words shows His divine nature and that He existed before He became flesh is when He said “Before Abraham was, I am.” There is another place in scripture where we have seen I AM before.
Exodus 3:14 says:
“And Elohim said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
If Abraham existed before Moses and Yeshua said before Abraham was I AM, then I AM would have been Yeshua speaking to Moses on the mount. If you go back and read Exodus 3:2 before Yeshua spoke to Moses it says:
“And the angel of YHWH appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.”
This verse indicates that an angel of YHWH appeared to Moses instead of saying YHWH first. Then in verse 4 Yeshua says:
“Elohim called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And He said, Draw not near: put off thy shoes from off they feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
This verse verifies that the angel of YHWH was indeed Yeshua when He started speaking to Moses and that the place Moses was standing on was holy ground. This angel wasn’t any angel because men are forbade to worship angels and this Angel had to authority to tell Moses to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This had to be Yeshua pre-incarnate (Spirit without human form). What does scripture say about the worship of angels?
Colossians 2:18 says:
“Let no man defraud you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshy mind.”
Revelations 22:8-9 says:
“And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then he said to me, See that you do not do it: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the words of this book: worship Elohim.”
As we can see from the two scriptures above it is a sin to worship an angel, but it’s not a sin to worship The King of Angels Yeshua The Messiah. This isn’t the only example that Yeshua has appeared before a man because He can take on many forms. In the book of Joshua 5:13-14 it says:
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said “Nay; but as captain of the host of YHWH am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship and said unto him, what saith my Master unto his servant?”
As discussed earlier we cannot worship angels; therefore, we know that we cannot worship a human being even if he is a captain. However, we notice Joshua bowed down to the earth and worshiped because Joshua knew that He was talking to a powerful being. It was Yeshua pre-incarnate again who came to deliver a message to Joshua. Then in verse 15, Yeshua tells Joshua the same thing that He told Moses. Joshua 5:15 says:
“And the captain of YHWH’s host said unto Joshua, Loose they shoe from off thy foot; for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.”
John 10:27-30 Yeshua says:
“ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man snatch them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.”
The statement that Yeshua made saying that He and The Father are ONE is what Moses told the children of Israel by command of YHWH. Yeshua was confirming what was written In Deuteronomy 6:4 which says:
“Hear, O Israel: YHWH our Elohim, YHWH is ONE”
Yeshua is saying that He is equal to the Father and YHWH, Yeshua, and the Holy Spirity (The Elohim-Triune) are ONE! The title Elohim means (Mighty Ones) therefore, where we see Elohim speaking that means YHWH, Yeshua, and The Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit) are speaking as ONE. The same principle applies when a man marries a woman because scripture tell us in Mark 10:7-8:
“For this reason a man will leave his dad and mom and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but ONE.”
We know that when a man and woman get married they don’t morph their bodies into each other and become one person. It means they are equal and tied to each other forever. Yeshua is making that same reference with His Father YHWH saying that even though they are two distinct Beings they are ONE Elohim together, Father and Son.
John 10:36 He says:
“Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Though blasphemes; because I said, I am the Son of Elohim?”
Yeshua again declares His divinity by saying that He can give eternal life to those who belong to Him which is something NO man can accomplish. Then He goes on to question the Jews about why they say He is blaspheming because He is the Son of Elohim. Yeshua usually proves He is Elohim and the Son of YHWH indirectly, but He was straight forward this time. Of course they were ready to stone Him at this point, but His time to be persecuted had not come yet.
John 7:15-17 says:
“The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man (Yeshua) get such learning without having studied?” Yeshua answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent Me.”
Firstly, Yeshua did not need to be taught on the law because Yeshua was present before the world, but also Yeshua is the living word of Elohim. We know this because scripture tells us in John 1-2:
“In the beginning was the Word (Yeshua), and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. He was with Elohim in the beginning.” Then verse 14 says “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
This is again confirmed in Revelation 19:13 which says:
“He (Yeshua) is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of Elohim.”
Then again in the Old Testament Yeshua says in Isaiah 48:16:
“Come near to Me, listen to this: from the first I have not spoken in secret, from the time it took place, I was there. And now YHWH Elohim has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
Yeshua is not only speaking in the Old Testament pre-incarnate to Isaiah, but He also once again confirms that He was in the beginning with YHWH and The Holy Spirit and that He was sent to earth.
And now you will have a clearer understanding of the passage all the way back in the beginning when you read Genesis 1:26 which says:
“And Elohim said, Let US make man in our image, after OUR likeness”
This passage is backing up what Yeshua told us in Isaiah, Exodus, and John that He was here before the foundation of the world and that He was present with YHWH and The Ruach HaKodesh (The Holy Spirit) when man was being created.
The Jews did not understand how a man who wasn’t even 50 years old could make a statement saying He saw Abraham and then go on to teach about YHWH without being taught because the word of Elohim is Yeshua Himself. And even more compelling evidence is that Yeshua says “My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who SENT ME.” Sent is a key word because He does not say born, this proves that He was King in Heaven (pre-incarnate) who left His throne and was SENT to become human flesh to die for all man-kind. Those are powerful words from our Messiah The King.
In John 14:6 Yeshua says:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to The Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.”
Yeshua just told us that no one can come to The Father except in His name, in other words Yeshua confirmed His divinity again by saying that as Elohim The Son, He is the intermediary between man and The Most High YHWH Elohim. No human being on earth can intercede for us only Yeshua The Son!
Also, Yeshua is once again confirmed that He and YHWH are ONE by saying that if you have seen Him then you have seen The Father! Any human making that claim would be blaspheming, but Yeshua is not a man, He is Elohim.
In John 14:12-14 Yeshua says:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
Again, Yeshua is telling us that He as at the right hand of His Father YHWH in heaven because if we pray in His name, then He will go to The Father and will answer our prayers. What man can answer prayers? What man can intercede for us and go to The Father for us? No one! Yeshua has confirmed His divinity of being Elohim by showing us His power.
In Luke 10:18 Yeshua says:
“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
This scripture is clear and again confirms that Yeshua was in heaven before the foundation of the world and He personally saw Satan being cast out from heaven.
Luke 4:41 says:
“Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of Elohim!” But He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was The Messiah.”
Mark 1:24-25 says:
“What do you want with us, Yeshua of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are---the Holy One of Elohim!” “Be quiet!” said Yeshua sternly. “Come out of him!”
So even the demons knew that Yeshua was the Son of YHWH and they feared Him greatly, yet they were not allowed to speak because Yeshua was not ready to reveal that He was the Messiah at that moment.
John 4:21-25 Yeshua comes right out and says it:
“Yeshua declared, “Believe Me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know, we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. Elohim is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah is coming. When He comes, He will explain everything to us. Then Yeshua declared, “I who speak to you AM HE.”
Yeshua as mentioned earlier did not permit his disciples or the demons to let everyone know that He was the Messiah and The Son of YHWH because prophecy states that there would be a spiritual blindness over the Jews and that the gentiles would accept His word and obey Him, so Yeshua revealed Himself to this Samaritan woman who was a gentile which fulfilled prophecy. In most cases Yeshua said that He was the Messiah indirectly but this time He came right out and admitted to this woman and many Samaritans believed in Him after the woman’s testimony.
There is a spiritual blindness over some people and a lot of other religions but as followers of Yeshua we must lead them to the light and show that He is the Son of YHWH and that we all need to repent and give our lives to the one who left heaven and came to earth to be crushed for our sins. We must preach Yeshua to the four corners because the Bible tells us plainly in John 3:18
“He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Elohim.”
Let us stand up and fight for the Elohim of Israel in truth and preach the gospel to the four corners!