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John 10:22-38 The Message (MSG)

22-24

They were celebrating Hanukkah just then in Jerusalem. It was winter. Jesus was strolling in
the Temple across Solomons Porch. The Jews, circling him, said, How long are you going to
keep us guessing? If youre the Messiah, tell us straight out.
25-30

Jesus answered, I told you, but you dont believe. Everything I have done has been
authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You dont believe because
youre not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give
them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them
from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the
Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart
and mind.
31-32

Again the Jews picked up rocks to throw at him. Jesus said, I have made a present to you
from the Father of a great many good actions. For which of these acts do you stone me?
33

The Jews said, Were not stoning you for anything good you did, but for what you saidthis
blasphemy of calling yourself God.

34-38

Jesus said, Im only quoting your inspired Scriptures, where God said, I tell youyou
are gods. If God called your ancestors godsand Scripture doesnt liewhy do you yell,
Blasphemer! Blasphemer! at the unique One the Father consecrated and sent into the
world, just because I said, I am the Son of God? If I dont do the things my Father does, well
and good; dont believe me. But if I am doing them, put aside for a moment what you hear me
say about myself and just take the evidence of the actions that are right before your eyes.
Then perhaps things will come together for you, and youll see that not only are we doing the
same thing, we are the sameFather and Son. He is in me; I am in him.
This is a very interesting sentence uttered by Jesus, God incarnate, the living word of God,
according to John 1:1-4, it also sounds like New Age, it seems to flow against everything else in
the Bible, yet, there it is and quoted by Jesus. How do we take this? Are we all Gods?
According to some religious or spiritual thinkers this verse is proof that God is not a Literal God
as an authority but is an energetic force that any of us all of us no matter what creed can tap into;
"he (Jesus) knew and he discovered within himself that he was not only
connected to the creative force of the universe, the unified field, or the matrix of
all matter as physicist Max Planck called it, but he realized that he was that
creative force, and that all of creation was in a literal sense God.... All that we are
is energy, and that energy has no boundaries. It is infinite, it is the invisible
force that permeates all space, and it is the force that connects all things because it
is all things. Sound familiar? Everything in the universe is connected by energy,
and that energy is consciousness, and that infinite consciousness is the source of
creation which we have labeled as God. When you oscillate with the vibration of
love, you are resonating with the highest energy of creation which by necessity
must be that universal and infinite consciousness, and thus you dont just align
with that energy, or channel it through you, you expand and become that energy."
- West for The Waking Times 2014
This type of teaching is nothing new and these types of spiritual thoughts were some of the same
types of doctrines that Paul and the disciples rebuked often in their letters to the growing
churches of God. Our ministry rejects this meaning of the verse quoted by Jesus, why would we
be commanded to worship ourselves? Why would we be commanded "NOT to have any other
gods if we are god?" If God is only energy why would He give us commandments, laws, and
promises of being our KING? We are promised that we will go to a place that He prepares for us.
None of these concepts in the Bible align with the thought that we are God if we can tap into the
highest form of energy available. However, we feel that this must be addressed as many people
read this and believe that true Christianity has been oppressed and that the truth is that Jesus was
a man who tapped into the highest energy available to Him and that Christian leaders have used
God as a way to maintain control and authority over the masses, and while religion has been and
will be used this way, that abuse doesn't mean that God is a myth, a creation of man, or the
highest form of energy. Many people are subscribers to this belief including Morgan Freeman
who has hosted and narrated many science TV shows and in 2012 spoke openly about his belief

that he and any other person who wants to tap into the highest form of energy is god and Oprah
Winfrey hosted and entire class centered on this philosophy in 2008. If this sounds atheistic and
agnostic more than Christian, it is. But, the verses are there in the Bible; one in the Old
Testament and one in the New, so the question is what did Jesus mean, what are the scriptures
telling us and how is it relevant to us today and in the future?
To start let's look at the verse Jesus (Yeshua) is quoting: "I said, 'You are gods,
And all of you are sons of the Most High (Psalms 82:6).'" We suggest a full reading of Psalms
82, it is a short chapter.
At this point we refer you to a recent study, "Be Holy:"
"In order to be Holy as God is Holy we must live like Him, think like
Him, become part of His world and not ours. This is why Isaiah inspired by God
said: "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this
word, it is because they have no dawn (Isaiah 8:20)."
We believe this to be true, as Yeshua (Jesus) states in John 15:5 & 7
"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him,
he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.... If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for
you."
Jesus says that in order to abide in Him we must abide in His words, this is what scripture says,
meaning to properly understand what Jesus (Yeshua) is saying, we must understand it from the
vantage point of scripture; the foundation of the New Testament is the Old Testament, this is why
it is so important for us, the children of God to study, know, and live what we are told in the Old
Testament.
To truly understand what Jesus is saying in this verse, we must understand what the verse in
Psalms meant, but before going into the meaning of the words used and the context of their use
let us look at the above paragraph again; most Christians who define their Christianity as
following Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior would be appalled by the above explanation by
the Waking Times Magazines and be able to take note of the many contradicting verses, yet, they
choose to ignore this verse rather ten approach it head on, why?
The sad truth is that many Christians neither understand this verse and even worse than not
understanding it Modern Christianity has been proclaiming man as god for quite a while in
doctrine and thought; Christians have dismissed God's doctrine and government for the doctrines
of man' while these doctrines include Bible verses they are contrary to scripture in many areas;
scripture says that the seventh day Sabbath is the Holy day of rest and worship, yet, the majority
of Christians have chose to worship on a day and keep a day sacred that has been deemed by

man and not God. The feast days of the Lord that are Eternal covenants have been forgotten and
replaced by man-made holidays with man ordained significance. The creator has told us what
animals are good for food and which ones are for other purposes, but man has decided that those
laws are no longer valid meanwhile sickness is rampant and largely connected with human diet,
and still, Christians refuse to re-think their position on food laws because in their arrogance they
believe that they must choose between believing in Grace or observing the law and this is not
Biblical; scripture says that observing the law, faith, and Grace are all synonymous see James
1:22 and chapter 2, Romans 2:12, and Romans 3:31, and the very words of Jesus who says, "If
you Love me Keep My commandments (John 14:15)," and the warning that He gave when He
said "depart from me you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:23)."
There are so many verses in the New Testament that stand in conjunction with the Law,
Instructions, rules, government, doctrine, of God, but Christians refuse to hear it! They refuse to
see it, they have deemed themselves gods! Christians have decided the day of worship,
Christians have decided we no longer need God's instructions, Christians have decided which
days they will keep holy, Christians made themselves gods long before Morgan Freeman or the
writer of The Waking Times claimed that Jesus endorsed the idea. This blasphemous idea is just
the natural progression of what western Christians have already done in their loyalty and
blindness to man-made traditions and man ordained doctrine. Let us now look at what scripture
actually IS saying:
Let us start by the meaning of the word God.
The word God in the Greek for the scripture in John 10:35 is Theos (G2315 in Strong's
exhaustive concordance) and it is the meaning of this Greek word that is truly an amazing insight
into the God we serve and into our own role in the world before and after the entrance of sin.
Theos means 1. uncertain affinity
2. a deity especially
3. The Supreme Divinity
4. A Magistrate
5. The Hebrew equivalent is very exceeding God.
The definitions are certainly telling; the fact that all these words are included in the very word
God is simply amazing. The first one listed, uncertain affinity; affinity means "a spontaneous or
natural liking or sympathy for someone or something," and is synonymous with empathy for,
rapport with, a harmony with, a bond with, a closeness with, understanding for, kinship, and
relationship.
God created man, out of the dust of the ground with His own hands rather than by His voice and
He chose to do this. God could have called us into being as He did with everything else, but He

chose to form us and in His own likeness. We are uncertain as to WHY we only know that He did
and we also know that instead of wiping us off the universe or voiding us out and starting new
because of His affinity for us He chose instead to suffer, die, and absorb the consequences into
Himself, becoming a curse on our behalf. We cannot explain such powerful affinity from the
very creator that we would dare question and yet, He still loves, calls, and works on our behalf.
Truly our Creator is beyond all our human understanding, making Him uncertain, He has an
affinity for us that we cannot grasp, but only drop to our knees in worship and thanksgiving.
A deity especially: Especially means very great or is used to single out one person or situation
above all others. So, the word Theos was used in the Greek to single out the God of Israel out
above all others as being very great. The Hebrew equivalent is exceeding and also means very
great.
The Supreme divinity, supreme means highest ranking, chief, head or top. Let's keep this in mind
when we think about heavenly beings such as the angels, they are considered part of the divine,
but God is supreme over them. This word supreme actually has more to it, but to understand that
we must continue with the rest of the definition.
Now, in the meaning of Theos is a very interesting word and it is Magistrate. A magistrate is a
civil officer or lay judge who administers the law especially one who conducts a court that deals
with minor offenses and hold preliminary hearings for more serious one.
I find the last most intriguing, because, while you can hear about the other definitions of God
preached about and taught, this one is oddly left out. But it is an important part of our Creator, is
He not the supreme Judge? Will He not hold hearings upon Judgment day? Was Daniel not
named to remind his brethren of this nature of God? Daniel means, "God is my Judge." Judge of
what? Yes, He will judge us on the Great and terrible day of the Lord and by what standard?
According to Jesus it is by a law (Matthew 7:23), so it only makes sense that it is God's law, after
all, magistrate means administer of the law and God did, upon creation and all through scripture
establish His law, He sent it to us by means of dispatching angels to deliver it (Acts 7:53).
Unfortunately Christians today hear the word "Law," and immediately tune out so we must
address this because there has been a major misunderstanding and misapplication of both law
and scripture. Why do people disdain the idea of being required to follow law, even the law from
the Creator they claim to love?
Amos tells us why people automatically reject any law, even by God; "For those who turn
justice into wormwood (bitterness) And cast righteousness down to the earth (Amos 5:7).
This is a look into what has happened to much of Christianity and why the law causes Christians
distress, God's justice which is explained in His law has been turned into bitterness and His
righteousness as explained through His governance which is the law is being cast down and
trampled by the very people who claim to follow Him.

It also comes from a deep misunderstanding of the word law, somehow, law has become a bad
word, so many Torah observant Christians will go through great lengths to call it something else
and there are other ways of describing it. Torah is a doctrine, a set of instructions, but it is also
laws and laws are ok, laws are good. Would any household be functional without family
rules/laws? Would any country not become full of chaos and destroy itself without laws? Any
good parent makes rules and any functioning country has laws, if this is true for man-made
systems and households would it not be true for the Supreme ruler, creator, magistrate as He is
called by the very definition of Theos?
As we are shown laws and governance can be used to oppress and persecute people and Jesus
hates that, His hatred for the abuse of the law to have power over people is shown not only in His
treatment and accusations of many Pharisees and Sadducees' but also in Revelation. This wasn't
an oversight of God's, He did not create a law, then people abused it, so He did away with it, as is
the story according to many pastors and churches. But, that isn't what scripture says; God knew
and fully understand man's tendency to desire power, God included it in His law and yet the
many religious leaders of the day did it anyway, thus, Stephen told them that they
(Pharisees/Sadducees') squandered the law God gave them (Acts 7:53-54). John the Baptist
called the Pharisees a brood of Vipers and told them to repent and Jesus, what did Jesus say to
them? Did He condemn them for "keeping the law" as it is commonly believed? Or did He
condemn them for not keeping the law? Let's look at a conversation that takes place in the
Gospel of Matthew that while noticed is looked at through doctrinal glasses causing many to
misunderstand the plain language used by Jesus:
"Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus saying, 'Why do Your
disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat
bread (Matthew 15:1-2).'"
Notice that the Pharisees and Scribes asked why the disciples were transgressing the "traditions
of the elders," not scripture? This is one of the verses that have often been cited by Modern
Christians as proof that Jesus said that God no longer desires us to follow the law, but the law of
God, Torah/instruction/doctrine was not the subject matter here, the traditions of the elders were.
Let's take a look at Jesus' response:
"He answered and said to them, 'Why do you also transgress the
commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded saying,
'Honor your father and your mother'; and he who curses father or mother, let him
be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, 'Whatever
profit you might have received from me is a gift to God'--then he need not honor
his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect
by your tradition. Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophecy about you, saying: 'These
people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but

their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as
doctrines of God the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:3-9)."
Does this reprimand of Jesus' support the idea that we no longer need follow the law of God?
Whether we like it or not there are rules to be followed in God's house, in His family, in His
Kingdom. If the word "Law" makes people turn from God then we must examine that spirit.
In America today, there are two spirits obviously at war with each other; one of rebellion and one
of sustaining the law. many Christians want to observe, protect and maintain the constitution of
America, many American Christians want to uphold and respect the authority of the police force
and Military, in sharp contrast is a spirit of rebellion against the constitution, police force, and
everything that America has held dear, while these conservatives often Christian people
understand and articulate the need for the law and order of our country to be preserved and
fought for, while they articulate why our police force is needed and must be respected, while
they balance the freedom and restrictions already outlined in the constitution they trample the
law of God underfoot.
If it is obvious that our American law is the source of both liberty and rightful restriction why
then is it so hard to comprehend the same concepts in the law of God?
It is often said in America that "if people are going to live in our country then they need to
observe and respect our laws." Isn't it even more important for us to function in the same manner
in God's Kingdom? America is a temporary place on a temporary earth; America will fall either
before or on the Great and Terrible day of the Lord, but God's Kingdom will last forever and if
we expect to be citizens of that great Kingdom shouldn't we respect and observe the laws of that
Kingdom?
What we see playing out in physical form in America is the same spiritual battle happening today
and has been happening for hundreds of years, a spirit of rebellion has overtaken the church and
this spirit says that we do not need laws and we shouldn't be expected top follow any laws, this
spirit has told us that we are god; we decide how and when we worship, we decide which days
are holy, we decide what is food, and we have the power to change times and laws therefore we
mandate our holy day and we make sacred our own holidays, we trample God's holy days and
laws under our feet while we hold out our hands in praise! How dare we sing blessed be the Lord
while we stomp all over His Righteous and Holy Word!
We have fallen into lawlessness and if we do not fall to our knees in repentance and turn to His
ways, which is His laws/Torah, His doctrine then we will be told: "Depart from me I never knew
you who practice lawlessness."
Because we are told that many will be told this, we know that we are not god and that we choose
to submit to God through faith in His ways or we submit to death through sin, we know that
Jesus is meaning something else entirely, what is it?

We return to the verse Jesus quotes Psalms 82:6: the Hebrew word used is Elohim, Elohim is a
word used for the pluralistic nature of God; in the books Revelation and Zachariah we are told
that there are seven spirits of God and His name takes on several different meanings; there is The
Lord of Armies, the Lord of Righteousness, He is our Judge and Magistrate, etc. God's nature,
person, divinity, and justice are all so complex that the human mind cannot fathom it nor
understand it but we are told what we need to be told, such as Theos includes the title magistrate
and it is this title that gives us the key to unlocking this verse and thus Jesus' words to the
Pharisees in John 10:35. Elohim, in this verse translates into judges.
God is the Supreme everything; Ruler, King, and Judge but in Genesis God gave dominion over
the earth to man, Adam. In that sense God made Adam, man, judge over the earth, God gave a
measure of power and authority into man's hands. God is the Supreme Ruler, but man still
submits to God's authority and it is God's rules and laws that man is responsible for overseeing
on earth, because the measure of power and authority came from God's authority.
On earth Jesus possessed power and authority without measure. God gave man a measure of that
authority. Unfortunately when Eve and Adam chose to submit to the snake instead of God that
authority was handed over; the evil one became the prince of our temporal earth, but God's
people have power, not of earth as whole, but as God's warriors in His war working to further
His kingdom. With God's authority we have power over the adversary. There is a spiritual war;
the spirit of rebellion and the spirit of God, in a sense there are two worlds co-existing in one.
The evil one presides but has no authority of power over God's people, however God's people are
safe only in God's covering. "As for God, His way is blameless; The word of the LORD is tried;
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him (Psalm 18:30)."
In the Hebrew this verse reads, "in His spoken word for those who trust, He is a Shield."
God spoke His law to the Israelites according to the book of Deuteronomy, and for those who
trust IN HIS WORD, they will abide in them, thus they will be protected by them, by God! The
Law IS OUR SHIELD FROM THE ENEMY!
Bringing to light Jesus' message in John 15:1-7 and explaining His reprimand, "you are gods."
You are judges, God expects His people to uphold His laws and His laws include generosity to
the poor, hospitality to the homeless, taking care of the elderly, widows, and orphans. His laws
include provision and safety for the travelers, servants, and the poor and the Pharisees and
scribes did not observe any of these, by contrast they took advantage of the poor, exploited the
weak and ill, ignored the widows and orphans. They were judges misusing and abusing their
authority. This is the reprimand of Jesus to these men, no wonder He became angry when the
Pharisees accused His disciples of "breaking the tradition of the elders," for they had ignored the
commandments of God! Jesus when He spoke you are gods, he was reminding them that they
were judges over God's people, and for any judge guilty of what they were guilty of it was a
strong reminder of what they had coming, they were not going to stand before any man guilty of

exhorting the people over whom they held authority, but the creator. This was a strong reminder,
reprimand, even a warning.
A warning that extends to us, Jesus always obeyed His Father's laws, are the servants above the
master? We must certainly think so, if we believe that it is our prerogative to do what Jesus did
not. Are we our own gods? If not we should certainly wonder by who's laws are we submitting
and observing? Our own? Or God's?
If we are to truly ask ourselves this question and reverently with opened eyes and ears search the
scriptures we must certainly recognize that many elements of Modern western Christianity has
been built upon the traditions of man rather than the scriptures of the Holy Word.

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