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Isaiah 9:6

(‘Pele-joez-el-gibborabi-ad-sar-shalom’)

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.“ (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV, Emphasis mine)

ISAIAH 9:6 IS ONE of the focal points of the proponents of the Christ-is-God doctrine in their attempt to prove that Christ is called the “Mighty God.” Isaiah 9:6 is a prophecy about the “Son,” ― the Lord Jesus Christ. However,  Jesus Christ is not the “Mighty God” in the passage, nor does this prophecy indicate His alleged divinity. Do not be deceived. It is crucial not to be misled and to conduct a thorough and meticulous examination of the text.

Who is the ‘Mighty God’ mentioned in Isaiah 9:6?

Isaiah 9:6 reads:

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

(Reference: Isaiah 9:6 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)

A

The “MIGHTY GOD” is the “EVERLASTING FATHER”
We can notice here that the “Mighty God” referred to is none other than the “Everlasting Father” Himself. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself prove that He is different from the “Father,” thus He is not the “Everlasting Father”:
“You heard Me tell you, I am going away and I am coming [back] to you. If you [really] loved Me, you would have been glad, because I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater and mightier than I am.”
(Reference: John 14:28, AMPC, Emphasis Mine)
The “Mighty God” mentioned in Isaiah 9:6 is the “Everlasting Father.” The “Everlasting Father” is NOT the Lord Jesus Christ for He Himself declared that “My Father is greater and MIGHTIER than I am.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus is not the “Mighty God” referred to in Isaiah 9:6.

B

Jesus Christ is the “SON” of the “MIGHTY GOD”
Let us also take into consideration the biblical fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the “Son” of the Almighty God according to the “Everlasting Father” Himself:
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’.”
(Reference: Matthew 3:16-17 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
The passage explicitly clear that the Lord Jesus Christ is God’s beloved Son by the declaration of God Himself! We Can also read that Christ is the “Son of the Living God”:
“Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’.”
(Reference: Matthew 16:16 NKJV, Emphasis Mine)
Therefore, if the Lord Jesus Christ is the Mighty God mentioned in Isaiah 9:6, this would raise an immediate problem because the Mighty God Himself declared that He has a Son (He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”), and if the Son is the Mighty God being referred to as Jesus Christ then this would conflict with the declaration of apostle Peter, (“You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God”), then there would be two Jesus – the “Mighty God” and the “Son of the Mighty God.” Thus, it is wrong to say that Jesus is the Mighty God mentioned in Isaiah 9:6.

C

The “MIGHTY GOD” mentioned is part of “ONE LONG NAME”
Isaiah 9:6 said, “And HIS NAME will be called “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” The verse did NOT SAY, “And HE IS the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.”

This rendering of Isaiah 9:6 may seem to those who read it that the verse is a series of names. However, it is evident that this is not a series of names but just one long name ― “HIS NAME” (singular) and NOT “HIS NAME(S).” Since Isaiah 9:6 was originally written in Hebrew, it would be of help to consult the Jewish Publication Society of America, for instance, on how it renders the verse. Let us read:

“For a child is born unto us. A son is given unto us; And the government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom;“

(Reference: Isa. 9:6 The Holy Scriptures According to the Masoretic Text, 1917 edition, Emphasis Mine)

The Hebrew name Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom is translated in the footnote of the same the Masoretic Text, 1917 edition as “Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of peace.” The name mentioned in Isaiah 9:6 is not a series of names but one long name. This is the reason why other versions of the Bible translated the verse as follows:

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; And the government will be upon his shoulder; And his name will be ‘Wonderful counsellor, Godlike hero, Father forever, Prince of peace’.”

(Reference: Isaiah 9:6 The Bible: An American Translation, The Complete Bible with the Apocrypha, Smith Goodspeed, Copyright 1923, 1927, 1948 by The University of Chicago, Published 1939, Eighteenth Impression 1964, Emphasis Mine)

Thus, what Isaiah 9:6 said is, “And HIS NAME will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” and NOT, “And HE IS the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.” Therefore, Isaiah 9:6 doesn’t prove that Christ is the “Mighty God” but that His name is called “Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the Everlasting Father, the Ruler of peace.” The “Mighty God” mentioned in Isaiah 9:6 is just a part of the “one long name,” thus, Goodspeed and Smith  recognized the name of the child that was born and given as a “Godlike” hero, and was not identified as an actual God as part of the one long name.

D

One’s state of being is not necessarily determined by the meaning attached to his name.
It is worthwhile to note that one’s state of being is not necessarily determined by the meaning attached to his name, much less by the meaning of the title of the government or authority he holds.
Simon who is Apostle Peter was named “Cephas” which Cephas is a masculine name of Aramaic origin, meaning “rock,” and from the Greek word for rock, “petros” (John 1:42). However, it doesn’t mean that Peter is himself a rock.

Moreover, the names Daniel (which means “God is my Judge”) and Elijah (“Yah is God”) both contain the word “God” in the meaning of their names, and “God” in the meaning of their names refer to God Himself, but it doesn’t mean that these persons are “God.”

Going back to Isaiah 9:6, this is how Jewish scholars from the Jewish Publication Society explain this verse from the book “The Jewish Study Bible” edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler:

“The Mighty God…This long sentence is the throne name of the royal child. Semitic names often consist of sentences that describe God; thus the name Isaiah in Hebrew means, “The Lord saves”; Hezekiah, “The Lord strengthens”…These names do not describe that person who holds them but the god whom the parents worship. Similarly, the name given to the child in this v. [Isa. 9:6] does not describe that child or attribute divinity to him…”
(Reference: Jewish Study Bible p. 784, Emphasis Mine)
A scholar and Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature from the University of Glasgow and principal of Trinity College also testified that the “name” in Isaiah 9:6 is “but one which will be descriptive of his (Christ) office.” Let us read:
“This son is not to have a name which will be for a sign, like the names of Isaiah’s sons (cf. 7.3; 8.1), but one which will be descriptive of his office.”
(Reference: Isaiah 1-39, Introduction and Commentary by John Mauchline, p. 113, Emphasis Mine)
James Moffatt in his translation of the Bible, rendered the “name” in Isaiah 9:6 as “title.” Let us read:
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; the royal dignity he wears, and this the title that he bears – “A wonder of counselor, a divine hero, A father for all time, a peaceful prince.”
(Reference: Isaiah 9:6 Moffatt Translation, Emphasis Mine)

Thus, it is clear that “Pele-joez-el-gibbor-Abi-ad-sar-shalom” is the “name” or the “title” of the authority or government, and, as Jewish scholars put it, the “throne name” which “does not describe the child or attribute divinity to him” but, as the scholar John Mauchline puts it, “descriptive of his (Christ) office” given to Him by the Father (cf. Matt. 28:18; 11:27).

E

Problems it creates to say Jesus is the “MIGHTY God”
  • If Jesus was the “Might God” in this passage, the proponents of the Jesus-is-God would first have to prove that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Ex 3:15).
  • Moreover, Jesus is the “Servant” of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Acts 3:13 NKJV).
  • If Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, it would have to be proven that God was once upon a time a child, born and given. This is an impossibility for God is everlasting to everlasting (Ps.90:2). God is the giver and Christ is the given. It was Christ who was born and given by God. (Matthew 2:1) (Jn. 3:16).
  • The authority or government that was placed on Christ’s shoulders further proves that it was merely given to Him by His Father when Christ declared: “…All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” (Mat.28:19, AB). Take note, Christ’s power and authority were merely given to Him by His Father, it was NOT inherited. While the power and authority of the true God is inherited, further validating that Christ is not the “Mighty God” as misinterpreted.

IN CONCLUSION

1

The “Mighty God” in Isaiah 9:6 is the “Everlasting Father.” while the Lord Jesus Christ Himself explicitly said that “for the Father is greater and mightier than I am” (John 14:28, AMPC, Emphasis Mine).

2

The Bible explicitly said that Jesus Christ is the “Son of the Living God.” so if Jesus is the “Mighty God” in Isaiah 9:6, then there will be two “Jesus Christ” – the “Mighty God” and the “Son of the Mighty God.”

3

Isaiah 9:6 stated, “And HIS NAME will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,” and NOT, “And HE IS the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace.”

4

The “Mighty God” mentioned in Isaiah 9:6 is just a part of the “one long name.”

5

One’s state of being is not necessarily determined by the meaning attached to his name, much less by the meaning of the title of the government or authority he holds.

6

Isaiah 9:6 doesn’t prove that Christ is the “Mighty God” but that His “name” is called “Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty, the everlasting Father, the Ruler of Peace,” the “title” of His authority or government as rendered by Moffatt, the “throne name” which “does not describe the child or attribute divinity to him” as Jewish scholars put it, and “descriptive of his (Christ) office” given to Him by the Father as scholar John Mauchline puts it.

7

If the proponents of the Christ-Is God doctrine would like to continue to insist that Christ is the “Mighty God,” then they would first need to prove the absurdity that the true God the Father was once upon a time a child, born and given and suspended in animation of its development in a woman’s womb for nine months and then go through the painstaking experience from baby to toddler and so forth. Oh, what irony!

8

WE KINDLY EXTEND our visitors an invitation to explore the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Christ and His apostles as they were taught in the first-century Church Of Christ: 

The Truth about God and Jesus Christ

SUPPORTERS OF THE BELIEF in the divinity of Christ, also known as the Christ-is-God or the God-man doctrine, assert that God exists as a trinity consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Although they are three in nature and considered distinct beings, proponents maintain that they form a single God. The concept of the Trinity lacks explicit biblical endorsement; thus, proponents often argue that it represents a profound mystery beyond human comprehension and should be accepted by faith alone.
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