GOD says "Let us create".... in the book of Genesis: (Does "us" mean GOD and Jesus?)
The sections of this article are:
1- The "our likeness" and "our
image" meaning.
2- The properties of our physical bodies VS GOD Almighty's.
3- The "We" people in the Bible.
4- Rebuttal from www.jewsforjudaism.org.
Let us look at the verses in question:
Genesis 1:26-27
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our
image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the
birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them.
There are three key statements in the verses above:
1- "Our Likeness"
2- "Our Image"
3- "Us" (see the 3rd section below)
Very fair. Let us now examine them in more details.
1- The "our likeness" and "our image" meaning:
From www.answering-christianity.com/spirit1_r1_rebuttal.htm:
1- "....after OUR likeness...."
Who is this human being that is like GOD? Adam, the first creation of Mankind and the one in Genesis 1:26-27 certainly isn't. The likeness of GOD Almighty is not the physical appearance, but rather having the knowledge of Good and evil. This is clearly stated in the Bible:
"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. (From the NIV Bible, Genesis 3:5)"
"and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (From the NIV Bible, Ephesians 4:24)"
"Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 7:1)"
"On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. (From the NIV Bible, Zechariah 12:8)"
That is why in the Noble Quran, Allah Almighty Commanded all of the Angels to bow down to
Adam! The Righteous and true Believers from Mankind are even better than the Angels
themselves. They are the closest to Allah Almighty:
Noble Verses 2:30-34
30. Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a
vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make
mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy
(name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."
31. And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then He placed
them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the nature of these if ye are right."
32. They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught
us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."
33. He said: "O Adam! Tell them their natures." When he
had told them, God said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and
earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"
34. And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they
bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who
reject Faith.
This clearly refutes the "original sin" lie!
Mankind are judged by GOD Almighty independently and uniquely. No mediators (Jesus and idols) are required in Islam:
"Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it. (The Noble Quran, 99:7-8)"
"In whatever business thou mayest be, and whatever portion thou mayest be reciting from the Quran,- and whatever deed ye (mankind) may be doing,- We are witnesses thereof when ye are deeply engrossed therein. Nor is hidden from thy Lord (so much as) the weight of an atom on the earth or in heaven. And not the least and not the greatest of these things but are recorded in a clear record. (The Noble Quran, 10:61)"
"There is no moving creature on earth but its sustenance dependeth on God: He knoweth the time and place of its definite abode and its temporary deposit: All is in a clear Record. (The Noble Quran, 11:6)"
"Knowest thou not that God knows all that is in heaven and on earth? Indeed it is all in a Record, and that is easy for God. (The Noble Quran, 22:70)"
"Nor is there aught of the unseen, in heaven or earth, but is (recorded) in a clear record. (The Noble Quran, 27:75)"
By the way, on the literal sense, no one is like GOD Almighty:
"Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God. (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 8:10)"
"There is no one holy [ Or no Holy One ] like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Samuel 2:2)"
"For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 89:6)"
"Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, (From the NIV Bible, Psalm 113:5)"
2- "....in OUR image...."
First of all, the word image also means example or similitude. In Arabic, the two words are the same; "timthal" (image); "mathalona" (our image); which are all derived from the root word "mathal" (example), and I am sure that it is the same condition in Hebrew and Aramaic since all three languages are all sister languages. Also in Arabic similitude means "shabah". "Mutashabbihan" means to have a similitude of.
There is no question that the root words "mathal" and "shabah" in the Noble Quran were used for "example" and/or "similitude":
"Their similitude (mathalohum) is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him, God took away their light and left them in utter darkness. So they could not see. (The Noble Quran, 2:17)"
"But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: "Why, this is what we were fed with before,"for they are given things in similitude (Mutashabbihan); and they have therein companions pure (and holy); and they abide therein (for ever). (The Noble Quran, 2:25)"
"God disdains not to use the similitude (mathalan) of things, lowest as well as highest. Those who believe know that it is truth from their Lord; but those who reject Faith say: "What means God by this similitude?" By it He causes many to stray, and many He leads into the right path; but He causes not to stray, except those who forsake (the path),- (The Noble Quran, 2:26)"
"The similitude (mathal) of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was. (The Noble Quran,3:59)"
etc....
Also as we've seen above, "our likeness" only and only means knowing Good and evil in the Bible. This makes both "our image (or example)" and "our likeness" refer to and mean the same thing.
In the next section below, we will see a comparison between our human-bodies' properties and GOD Almighty's and see how it is impossible for our physical bodies to look like GOD Almighty's, since our physical parts (lungs, hearts, penises, butts, liver, kidney etc.. were all made and design to help us survive here on earth). But first, let us first look at some of the many examples of the metaphoric speech that exists in the Bible so that the reader can appreciate and comprehend how things are sometimes written in the Bible, and what they really mean.
It is easy for the likes of Shamoun and his cult to deceive the ordinary by giving them examples of this type to prove the polytheist trinity paganism lie. You will see how these lies have no ground in the Bible and how they are soundly exposed and debunked.
From http://www.answering-christianity.com/bible_figurative_speech.htm:
GOD Almighty's figurative Temptation:
Luke 11
2 He said to them, "When you pray, say: " 'Father,
hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And
lead us not into temptation.' "
5 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at
midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
YET, GOD ALMIGHTY DOESN'T TEMPT:
James 1
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting
me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full
-grown, gives birth to death.
Luke 11:2-5 and James 1:13-15 above, clearly prove that GOD Almighty does allow satan to tempt, not only us but also His Prophets.
GOD Almighty's Hand:
1 Samuel 5
9 But after they had moved it, the LORD's hand was
against that city, throwing it into a great panic. He afflicted the people of
the city, both young and old, with an outbreak of tumors.
10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. As the ark of God was entering Ekron, the people
of Ekron cried out, "They have brought the ark of the god of Israel around to us to
kill us and our people."
11 So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, "Send the ark
of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our
people." For death had filled the city with panic; God's hand was very heavy upon it.
The verses obviously are not talking about GOD Almighty's physical Arm, Hand and Fingers.
They figuratively saw GOD Almighty:
"Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 24:9-11)"
"Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared." The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. (From the NIV Bible, Genesis 32:29-31)"
"But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself." "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. (From the NIV Bible, Genesis 33:9-11)"
GOD Almighty figuratively hid His Face from them:
Deuteronomy 31
16 And the LORD said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your
fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land
they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them.
17 On that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my
face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties
will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us
because our God is not with us?'
18 And I will certainly hide my face on that day because of all their wickedness in
turning to other gods.
Psalm 27
8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your
face, LORD , I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in
anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.
Psalm 80
2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be
saved.
4 O LORD God Almighty, how long will your anger smolder against the prayers of your
people?
Isaiah 59
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor
his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden
his face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken
lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
But in reality and actuality, no one has seen GOD Almighty, because
they would then die:
Exodus 3
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him
from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your
sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
6 Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at
God.
Judges 13
21 When the angel of the LORD did not show himself again to
Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the angel of the LORD .
22 "We are doomed to die!" he said to his wife. "We have
seen God!"
23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have
accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things
or now told us this."
1 John 4
11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love
one another.
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and
his love is made complete in us.
13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
Jehovah or Yahweh Almighty was the One and Only LORD! The
"God" title was distorted in the Bible. Even satan was called
"God":
2 Corinthians 4
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so
that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God.
The word "hotheos" in 2 Corinthians 4:2 which means "God" or "god" was the same exact word used in John 1:1. For more details and proofs please visit: The "God" title was given to people before and after Jesus in the Bible.
Only Yahweh (Jehovah in English) is not figurative. Exactly like no one has ever seen GOD Almighty's Face exactly like Moses is also not figurative.
Can anyone really move a mountain with his eyes?
" Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.' (From the NIV Bible, Matthew 21:21)"
Can anyone really survive a poisonous snake's venom without treatment?
"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. (From the NIV Bible, Mark 16:17-18)"
As we saw above in "OUR likeness", the speech is all metaphoric!
Also, both "OUR image" and "OUR likeness" mean the same thing.
2- The properties of our physical bodies VS GOD Almighty's:
It is important to notice that "OUR image" could also refer to the spirit of humans and not necessarily their earthly bodies. In other words, it is not necessary that GOD Almighty has a penis, butt, 10 fingers, 10 toes, ribs, lungs, heart etc... as humans have. Also, if He is like us physically, then does He also have a vagina like women do? Does He have a big breast like women and not a flat one like men? Does he breath oxygen like us? If not, then does He have lungs like us?
Does He eat? If not, then does He have a stomach that digests and processes all of the food that it intakes like our stomachs do?
Does His Body require vitamins, minerals, calcium, proteins, etc.... to remain surviving like ours do?
Does GOD have blood and skin? Does He get nose bleeds, and skin cuts that cause bleeding like us?
If He has blood, does He also have a kidney for cleaning His blood?
And if GOD Almighty's Body doesn't process food, then why would He then need a bladder, kidney, butt and a penis or vagina? If He doesn't urine or do a "number 2" like we do after we eat and drink, then what is the purpose of Him having these parts? Or does He truly Have them??
It is clear that the image and likeness that are mentioned in Genesis 1:26-27 are nothing but metaphoric speech!
Let us now look at what Jesus said about himself that will give the ultimate knockout to the trinity lie regarding the "Us" and "Image" and "Likeness" in Genesis 1:26-27:
The Bible's New Testament records Jesus saying: ""Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good–except God alone." (From the NIV Bible, Mark 10:18)"
If Jesus doesn't consider himself as "good", then how can any sane person put him on the same level as GOD Almighty?
I have yet to see a good answer to this one by any polytheist trinitarian.
Also, another important point to notice in Mark 10:18 is the word "alone": ""Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good–except God alone." (From the NIV Bible, Mark 10:18)"
Jesus in this verse is clearly giving exclusivity to GOD Almighty when he said "alone". If Jesus was truly part of GOD Almighty and/or the trinity lie was true, then Jesus, to say the least, would not have said that.
My rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's absurdities regarding Mark 10:18 where Jesus said he was not "good".
Jesus, the alleged second part or third or person of the godhead lie, showed no signs of being GOD Almighty Himself. I have written and compiled a long and detailed section that refutes every single alleged "trinity verse" in the bible at: www.answering-christianity.com/at.htm.
As we've seen above, Jesus said that he was not "good", and "only GOD alone is good".
Jesus also ran to Egypt for his life from King Herod!
Jesus was also tempted by satan for 40 days, and he "suffered" from him.
Jesus bowed his face down to the ground before GOD Almighty and Worshiped Him.
These are just few examples. The list is of refutations is long, and you can view all of them, again, at:
www.answering-christianity.com/at.htm
3- The "We" people in the Bible:
From www.answering-christianity.com/spirit1_r1_rebuttal.htm:
As I clearly proved above, the "Image" and "Likeness" of GOD Almighty are only metaphoric. I also clearly proved that they knowing the difference between Good and evil.
As to the "We" above for the kings, Sam Shamoun can play his old blasphemous word-game and try to falsely prove that "We" was never used by a single person and referring only to a single person.
"And king Rehoboam took counsel with THE OLD MEN, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: 'What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?' And they spoke unto him, saying: 'If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.' But he forsook the counsel of THE OLD MEN which they had given him, and took counsel with THE YOUNG MEN that were grown up with him, that stood before him. And he said unto them: 'What counsel give YE, that WE may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?'" 2 Chronicles 10:6-9
I don't know if Shamoun is acting dumb or he just doesn't know history very well. In the Old days, only the "man in charge" would speak and would decide! The rest kept silent. So it is only normal and natural for the king to refer to himself and only himself as "we".
The "We" people in the Bible:
1- The priests and ministers are perfect, sinless and infallible!
"The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Corinthians 2:15)"
No ordinary man can judge a homosexual priest or money-worshiping and money-begging fraud minister in church. They are higher than him or her.
2- The magnification of certain select people is true even in the laws of inheritance in the Bible:
(a)- If the man dies and has one son and several daughters, then the son inherits everything:
Numbers 27
8 "Say to the Israelites, 'If a man dies and
leaves no son, turn his inheritance over to his daughter.
9 If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers.
10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father's brothers.
11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his
clan, that he may possess it. This is to be a legal requirement for the Israelites, as the
LORD commanded Moses.' "
(b)- If there is more than one son, then the oldest gets the double of what each has!
(bold and color emphasis below are mine)
From http://www.bibletexts.com/verses/v-2ki.htm:
2.9 Elisha's request for a double share of your spirit refers to the legal provision that a firstborn son must receive a double portion of the inheritance (Deut 21:15-17). Elisha thus asks to have the status of Elijah's firstborn and to inherit more of his spirit than any other prophetic heirs. Elisha is not requesting more of the spirit than Elijah had but only a fraction of it.
If a Jewish father had two sons, the older son would inherit twice as much property as the younger son, which would provide the older son with two-thirds of the father's property. Professor Rofe's statement that Elisha asked to inherit "two thirds of his master's spirit" would apparently assume that a second son or the other children would inherit the other third of his master's spirit; however, there is no biblical mention of Elijah having been married or having any children. So the assumption may be made that Elijah was making his request in the context of the prophets, meaning in a literal sense that Elisha was requesting two-thirds of Elijah's spirit and requesting the other prophets divide up the other third of Elijah's spirit.
Norman H. Snaith, in his exegesis of 2 Kings in The Interpreter's Bible (edited by George Arthus Buttrick, Nashville: Abingdon, 1954, Volume 3, page 194), writes:
9. The double share is the portion of the heir, the first-born. Elisha desires to succeed to the leadership of the prophetic guilds ("the sons of the prophets"), and so to have the authority and power which belonged to his master. The meaning is not that he should be two thirds as great as Elijah (so Ewald [H.G.A. von Ewald, Commentary on the Prophets of the Old Testament, 5 Volumes, Edinburgh: ET, 1875-1881]), nor on the other hand that he should be twice as great as Elijah (so Ecclus. 48:13, Vulg.), but that he should he should be his successor. The word ruah (spirit) is not used here of phophetic inspiration so much as in the sense of more-than-human power.
(i) The poor widow (4:1-7). 1. wife: The story indirectly shows that members of the prophetic guilds married despite the fact that they sometimes lived in community (cf. 4:38-41). slaves: The law did not permit one Israelite to enslave another permanently (Lv 25:46). Israelites could, however, be sold into slavery for a limited time to satisfy debts (Ex 21:7; Is 50:1), and in many cases Israelites were probably reduced to permanent slavery despite the law and the strong sentiment against it (cf. Neh 5:1-13; Jer 34:14; Ex 21:16; Dt 24:7; see De Vaux, AI 82-83).
The
point is that the magnification of people and the majestic
speech of "We" by people did exist in the Bible
both in quotes and in practice
(by for instance putting the older son above all of his brothers and
sisters, and putting the daughters behind all sons.)
4- Rebuttal from www.jewsforjudaims.org:
Further more regarding GOD using the word "Us" in the Bible:
From www.jewsforjudaism.org:
Question : God said: "Let us make man in our image . .
." (Genesis 1:26) and "Come, let us go down, and there confound their
language" (Genesis 11:7). To whom does the "us" refer?
Answer: Trinitarian Christians maintain that Genesis 1:26 and Genesis 11:7 are prooftexts
of an alleged tri-unity god, but this claim is erroneous. The inference that "Let us
make man in our image" (Genesis 1:26) refers to the plurality of God is refuted by
the subsequent verse, which relates the creation of man to a singular God, "And God
created man in His image" (Genesis 1:27). In this verse the Hebrew verb
"created" appears in the singular form. If "let us make man" indicates
a numerical plurality, it would be followed in the next verse by, "And they created
man in their image." Obviously, the plural form is used in the same way as in the
divine appellation 'Elohim, to indicate the all-inclusiveness of God's attributes of
authority and power, the plurality of majesty. It is customary for one in authority to
speak of himself as if he were a plurality. Hence, Absalom said to Ahithophel, "Give
your counsel what we shall do" (2 Samuel 16:20). The context shows that he was
seeking advice for himself' yet he refers to himself as "we" (see also Ezra
4:16-19).
Back to Answering Trinity section.
What is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Islam? Why can't we call it GOD?
My rebuttal to Sam Shamoun's "A Brief Rebuttal to Anti-Missionary Attacks on the Trinity" article.