The “Holy Trinity”
Satan’s Greatest Deception
Biblical Guide-Posts
Volume 1, June, 2004
The so-called “Holy Trinity” is Satan’s greatest deception. II Corinthians 4:3-4 tells us that the gospel of Jesus the Christ is veiled (hidden) from those who are perishing (lost in counter-fit Christianity, secularism, or the various forms of modern day paganism which are gaining wide spread popularity). Satan has blinded the minds of those how refuse to accept the gospel of Jesus the Christ who is the image of God the Father. The Apostle Paul told the Galatians that he marveled that they were already turning away from the gospel of the Kingdom of God as delivered by Jesus the Christ, “unto another gospel” (Galatians 6:1). The New Testament is replete with warnings about false Christianity (counter-fit). See Matthew 24:11-12, II Peter 2:1, I Timothy 4:1, II Corinthians 11:4 and 11:13-14.
Once again, the Apostle Paul warns true Christians not to accept those people into their homes who would “preach another Jesus” (false Jesus), “or preach a different gospel” which you have not received from the Apostles. Notice Paul warns the believer in II Corinthians 11:13-14, that those who come preaching another Jesus or another gospel “are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.” “And no wonder! For Satan himself; is transformed into an angel of light.”
Notice how Satan is responsible for all false religion, whether it is a counter-fit paganized form of Christianity (Romanism or Protestantism) or one of the many modern forms of paganism which are gaining in popularity daily. Notice that all false religion has at its core, a false concept of god! Traditional Christianity is no exception. Satan has counter-fitted the family of God which is open to the birth of millions of sons and daughters through the resurrection from the dead for a counter-fit paganized triune god that is eternally closed. The belief in the “Trinity” denies the fact that the “Godhead” (Romans 1:20) is reproducing itself through mankind. The non-biblical belief in the triune nature of the Godhead is just one more manifestation of the centuries old pagan belief that the creator, God, is a Trinity.
The following was taken from “The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship” by the Late Rev. Alexander Hislop pages 18-20.
The recognition of a “Triune” god (Trinity) was universal among the ancient
nations of the world in one form or another. Proving how deeply-rooted in the
human experience the paganized belief in the “Trinity is. In ancient Japan,
Buddhists worshipped “One god, in three forms.” In ancient Babylon the belief
in the “Trinity” manifest itself in the form of the Eternal Father, the Spirit of
God incarnate in a human mother, and a Divine Son, the fruit of that incarnation.
In ancient Babylon, the first person in the Godhead, the Father, was practically overlooked. Sounds very much like the Roman Catholic version of the so-called
“Holy Trinity.” In ancient Egypt, the “Trinity” took on the form of the Mother
and the Child under the names of Isis and Osiris. In ancient India, the “Trinity”
took on the form of Isi and Iswara. In Asia, the Trinity took on the form of
Cybele and Deoius, In pagan Rome the “Trinity” took on the form of Fortuna
and Jupiter-purer, or Jupiter, the boy, and in ancient Greece the “Trinity” took
on the form of Ceres, the Great Mother and Plutus her infant son.
The Bible does not teach the pagan belief in the “Triune” nature of the Creator, God. In Genesis, 1:26, God reveals that he is reproducing himself, physically through mankind. “Then God (Elohim which is plural) said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” The plural nature of God is revealed in verse 26. There is one Elohim (God-family) but two spirit beings that make up the Godhead in Genesis 1:26.
Notice what the commentary in “The Companion Bible (KJV) has to say about Genesis 1:26:
“In the likeness of our image”, viz. of Elohim (not Jehovah who is Jesus the
Christ) the 2nd person, who had taken creature form in order to create (Col.
1:15, Heb. 1:3, Rev. 3:14; Prov. 8:22-31, and I Cor. 11:3-11). “In Our image,
according to Our likeness” refers only to outward form, not to attributes. So
he afterward took human form in order to redeem (John 1:14). Rev. 4:11 with
Rev. 5:9. In any case the “image and likeness” is physical, not moral. Man
fell and is a moral ruin, but some physical likeness to Elohim still remains.
Gen. 9:6, I Cor. 11:7, James 3:9. No indication that that similitude was ever
Lost (Gen. 5:3” page 4).
Elohim (God) is a family, composed of two spirit beings, yet one Elohim. Just as the human family, as God ordained, has one name, yet many members. Psalm 110:1, “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies your footstool.” Psalm 110:1 records a conversation between the member of the Godhead who would one day be called the Father and the one who would be called the Son-Jesus the Christ.
Hebrews 1:3 and verses 8-9 clarify the family relationship further. Verse 3, “who being the brightness of His glory (the Father) and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1:3 clearly shows a very close relationship, which is further clarified in verses 8 and 9. “But to the Son (Jesus) He (God the Father) says: Your throne, O God, (Jesus is called God) is forever and ever.” Notice verse 9, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness: Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Notice Hebrews 1:13 is a direct quote from Psalm 110:1 “But to which of the angels has He (God the Father) ever said: Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? As we examine scripture, it becomes quite clear that the Godhead, Elohim, is a family composed of God the Father and God the Son (Jesus the Christ).
The gospel of John gives us a pre-historical glimpse into the nature of the Godhead (John 1:1-3). “In the beginning was the Word (logos or spokesman), and the Word (logos or spokesman) was with God, and the Word (logos or spokesman) was God.” “He (logos or spokesman) was in the beginning with God (God the Father).” “All things were made through Him (Jesus the logos), and without Him (Jesus) nothing was made that was made.” Jesus the Christ is clearly identified as our creator, God and the second member of the God family! John 1:14 tells us that “the Word (logos or spokesman) became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:12 tells us that “as many as received Him (Jesus), to them He (Jesus) gave the right to become the CHILDREN OF GOD, to those who believe in His name.” The doctrine of the “Trinity” closes the Godhead, limiting it to a single deity who manifests himself to humanity in the form of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This doctrine denies the truth found in Genesis 1:26, in which Elohim (God) says; “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” The false doctrine of the “Trinity” denies the wonderful truth that the Godhead is reproducing itself through human procreation (through the institution of marriage as defined by Elohim in Scripture), and later the resurrection from the dead. To embrace the doctrine of the “Trinity” is to deny the true purpose for mankind as declared by the Godhead (Elohim) Genesis 1:26.
Revelation 1:13-15 describes the physical features of the Son of Man, Jesus the Christ. Notice he has feet and a chest (ver. 13), head, eyes and hair (ver. 14), a voice (ver. 15), and hands and mouth (ver. 16). The Bible nowhere describes the two members of the Godhead as a “Trinity!”
Advocates of the “Triune” nature of God point to I John 5:7-8, as proof of the so-called “Triune” nature of God. Verse 7-8 reads as follows in the King James version of the “Holy Scriptures”, “For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.” “And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.” There you have it, conclusive scriptural proof of the “Triune” nature of God, or is it? Upon further investigation the margin of any quality study Bible reveals that the oldest manuscripts “omit all the words from ‘in heaven’ to ‘in earth.’ The words are not found in any Greek manuscripts before the sixteenth century (The 1500-Protestant Reformation era-interesting). The text in question was first found in the margin of some Latin copies. Thence they have crept into the text.”
Source: The Companion Bible (KJV), Kregel Publications, copy right 1990, last printed in 1997, page 1876, footnote #7,
Question, which church is responsible for giving us the corrupted vulgate (Latin) translation of the Holy Scriptures? Answer, the so-called “Holy Roman Catholic Church!” If you have a Bible translation that miss-translates I John 5:7-8 take a black pen and omit the words “in heaven” down through the first part of verse 8 including the words “on earth.” An exhaustive search of scripture from Genesis to Revelation disproves the pagan concept of the “Triune” nature of the Creator, Elohim.
A logical question arises, and that is, what does the reference to “the Spirit, the water, and the blood” refer to in I John 5:8? Most scholars believe the reference in verse 8 to the Spirit, refers to the holy spirit of God coming upon Jesus at his baptism, while the reference to water refers to his physical baptism, and the blood referred to in verse 8 refers to Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for mankind on the cross. This is simply an affirmation of Jesus’ messiah-ship and not a definition of the so-called “triune” nature of the Godhead.
I John 5:7-8, should read as follows, “For there are three that bear witness: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.”
The Seventh Day Adventists have accepted a variation of the false doctrine of the “Trinity” in that they believe that the Godhead is composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Where the Churches of God differ from the Seventh Day Adventists is in the belief that the Holy Spirit is the creative power of God the Father and God the Son. It is the spirit that emanates from the Godhead and joins with the human, mortal spirit (mind) in man at our conversion and opens the mysteries of God up to our understanding.
Notice all of the Apostle Paul’s greetings, which you’ll find at the beginning of each book that bears his name.
· Epistle of Paul to the Romans: “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.” “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 7
· First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God.” “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 3
· Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 2
· Epistle of Paul to the Galatians: “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead.) “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 3
· Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.” “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 2
· Epistle of Paul to the Philippians: “Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ.” “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 2
· Epistle of Paul to the Colossians: “Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.” Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 2
· First Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians: “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 1
· Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians: “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 1
· First Epistle of Paul to Timothy: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.” Verse 2
· Second Epistle of Paul to Timothy: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Verse 2
· Epistle of Paul to Titus: “Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness.” “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.” Verse 4
· Epistle of Paul to Philemon: “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother.” “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 3
Notice how each epistle begins with the same basic greeting “grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Is not God worthy of praise? The answer is yes, therefore, if the “holy spirit” is a third member of the Godhead wouldn’t he be worthy of praise as the third co-equal member of the “Triune” Godhead? The answer is simply yes, however, Paul only recognizes the lordship of God the Father and God the Son. Paul nowhere recognizes the “holy spirit” as a third co-equal member of the Godhead, worthy of praise. Not once does Paul come in the name of the “holy spirit.” If the “Holy Spirit” is a third co-equal member of a “Trinity” as traditional Christianity and the Seventh Day Adventists believe, Paul is guilty of Blasphemy against the third member of the Godhead called the “Holy Spirit.” However, the apostle Paul is not guilty of blasphemy because the Holy Spirit is the impersonal creative power that emanates from the Godhead, God the Father and God the Son.
Consider the following quotations from a number of historians and scholarly texts that illustrate the ongoing nature of the debate over the nature of the Godhead:
Hasting’s Bible Dictionary, Vol. 12, p. 485
Although the notion of a Triad or Trinity is characteristic of the Christian
religion, it is by no means peculiar to it. In Indian religion, e.g., we meet
with the Trinitarian group of Brahma, Siva, and Visnu; and the Egyptian
religion with the Trinitarian group of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, constituting
a divine family, like the Father, Mother and Son in medieval Christian
pictures. Nor is it only in historical religions that we find God viewed as
a Trinity. One recalls in particular the Neo-Platonic view of the Supreme
or Ultimate Reality, which was suggested by Plato…
A History of Christian Thought, by Arthur Cushman McGiffert, page 240
McGiffert points out that the main argument against those who believed
that there was only one god and that Christ was either an adopted or a
created being was that their idea did not agree with Platonic philosophy.
Such teachings were offensive to theologians, particularly to those who
felt the influence of the Platonic philosophy.
Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, by James Bonwick, F.R.G.S., page
Though it is usual to speak of the Semitic tribes as monotheistic; yet it is
an undoubted fact that more or less all over the world the deities are in
triads. This rule applies to eastern and western hemispheres, to north and
south. Further, it is observed that, in some mystical way, the triad of three
persons in one….The definition of Athanasius [a fourth-century Christian]
who lived in Egypt, applied to the trinities of all heathen religions.
Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church, by Hubert Jedin, page 29
The Alexandrian catechetical school, which revered Clement of Alexandria
and Origen, the greatest theologians of the Greek Church, as its heads,
applied the allegorical method to the explanation of Scripture. Its thought
was influenced by Plato: its strong point was theological speculation.
Athanasius and the three Cappadocians had been included among its
members…
New Catholic Encyclopedia, article “Trinity,” Vol. 14, page 295.
There is recognition on the part of exegetist and Biblical theologians,
including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics, that one
should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without
serious qualification. There is also the closely parallel recognition –
that when one does speak of unqualified Trinitarianism, one has
moved from the period of Christian origins to say, the quadrant
of the 4th century (appro. 325 A.D.). It was only then that what
might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma-one God in three
persons became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., article “Nicaea, Council of,” page 641.
A clearly defined standpoint with regard to this problem-the relationship
of Christ to God-was held only by the attenuated group of Arians and a
far from numerous section of delegates who adhered with unshaken
conviction to the Alexandrian [Athanasius] view. The bulk of the members
occupied a position between these two extremes. They rejected the formulae
of Arius, and declined to accept those of his opponents…the voting was no
criterion of the inward conviction of the council.
In other wards, after the council of Niceaea (325 A.D.), the Trinity became the official dogma of the church at Rome, but the controversy did not end. In the next few years more Christians were killed by other Christians over that doctrine than were killed by all the pagan emperors of Rome. Yet, for all the fighting and killing, neither of the two parties had a biblical foundation for their doctrine regarding the nature of the Godhead!
I can not stress enough the fact that the “Holy Spirit” is not the third co-equal member of a triune god, but the Creator, God’s begettal power. The Spirit, or Holy Spirit, as it is called in the New Testament, was the power by which Jesus the Christ was begotten: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18)
When Joseph was about to put Mary away because she was pregnant, “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).
Jesus was begotten in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was literally born with God’s Spirit in His mind. He became the Son of God and died for us that we might have the same opportunity to become members of the family of God.
The Apostle Paul plainly taught this vital scriptural truth as revealed in Romans 8:16; “The Spirit itself bearth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Paul did not mean this in some sentimental sort of way, as he goes on to show in the next verse. “And If children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ….” Romans 8:17.
Paul also makes clear that Jesus the Christ is the heir of all things in Hebrews 1:2. We then have the opportunity, if we have God’s Spirit in our minds, to inherit all things with and through Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit of God impregnates us with God’s nature. That spiritual begettal imbues us with the nature and mind of God. Throughout our Christian lives we continue to grow and develop in the understanding and mind of God until we are finally born into the God family and made immortal at the return of Jesus the Christ to earth (I Corinthians 15:49-52).
All Christians receive the Spirit of God through “repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus the Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” Acts 2:38.
How plain the truth of scripture is, the Holy Spirit is not a third co-equal member of a triune god, but the very power of God that impregnates us with the life changing nature and mind of God. It is the power by which we are begotten and though which become the sons and daughters of God.
Scholars Weigh in on the Issue of the Trinity
Most theologians know that the doctrine of the “Trinity” is not scriptural. For further review:
Definition of the Trinity: “Within the nature of the One True God, there simultaneously exists three eternal Persons, namely, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three persons are co-equals in all the attributes of the Divine Nature.”
Source: Pamphlet: Why Christians Believe In The Trinity: Nationwide Ministries 1999
The above definition defines God, not as a family, but as a committee. But how did this doctrine come to exist in modern Christianity? In the preface to Edward Gibbon’s History of Christianity, it reads:
If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that
Christianity (traditional Christianity) was corrupted by Paganism.
The pure Deism of the first Christians…was changed, by the Church
of Rome, into the incomprehensible dogma of the Trinity. Many of the
pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians and idealized by Plato, were
retained as being worthy of belief.
Source: History of Humanity, Preface: Edward Gibbons
The Bible does not teach the doctrine of the Trinity. Neither the word
Trinity itself, nor such language as one in three, three in one, one essence
or substance or three persons, is biblical language. The language of
the doctrine is the language of the ancient Church (starting approximately
the mid-third century A.D.), taken not from the Bible but from classical
Greek philosophy.
Source: Christian Doctrine, p 92, Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr.
“Historians also know that the Trinity doctrine is not authorized in the New Testament.”
“There is no evidence the Apostles of Jesus ever heard of a Trinity.”
Source: Outline of History, 1920 Editions, p. 499, H.G. Wells
Because the Trinity is such an important part of later Christian doctrine,
it is striking that the term does not appear in the New Testament.
Likewise, the developed concept of three coequal partners in the Godhead
found in later creedal formulations cannot be clearly detected within the
confines of the canon.”
But nowhere do we find any Trinitarian doctrine of three distinct subjects
of divine life and activity in the same Godhead.
All Pagan religions from the time of Babylon have adopted in one form
of another a Trinity doctrine or a triad or trinity of gods. In Babylon
it was Nimrod, Semiramas, and Tammuz. In Egypt it was Osiris,
and Horus. Within Israel paganism it was Kether, Hokhmah, and
Binah. In Plato’s philosophy it was the Unknown Father, Nous/Logos,
and the world soul.
We can trace the history of the doctrine, and discover in source,
not in the Christian revelation, but in the Platonic philosophy…The
Trinity is not a doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, but a fiction of
the school of the later Platonists.”
Source: A Statement of Reasons, Andrews Norton, 1872, Fifth edition, American Unitarian Association, Boston, MA, p 94, 104
The Bible commands us to base our belief in God on “the faith once delivered (Jude 3),” and not “the traditions of men” (Mark 7:6-9). Jesus tells us “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” The “rivers of living water” spoken of here is a clear reference to the holy spirit of God. (See Mark 7:6 and II Corinthians 4:13)
The Apostle John tells us in I John 1:3 that “our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” It is the holy spirit of God that makes the physical mind of man one with the spiritual mind of God.
Those who reject the divinely revealed revelation of the reality of the family of God are condemned by God in Job 40:8. God asks the carnal mind of man, “Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?” (See Romans 10:2-3)
Jesus tells those who would keep the traditions of men, while they lay aside the Commandment of God (Mark 7:6-9), “I profess” to you, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (lawlessness)” (Matthew 7:23).
In Matthew 15:3, Jesus asked the people, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” To those people who lay aside the Commandment of God so that they may keep their traditions, Jesus will order them to depart from him, them that work iniquity.
Our faith and spiritual tradition must be Bible centered, not tradition centered, derived from various ancient pagan mythologies, that through the Middle Ages, were “Christianized,” and re-instituted into the Roman Catholic Church giving this great prophetic Whore a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” From such we are commanded to turn away (II Timothy 3:5).
The Apostle Paul condemned apostate Christianity in Romans 10:2-3, “for I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.” “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
The Bible commands each of us to make a decision for Christ, based on the divine record. Which Christ do you follow? The false Christ perpetuated by traditional Christianity through the pagan doctrine of the trinity or the divinely revealed Christ of scripture which reveals a family relationship at present composed of God the Father and the Son? Remember, God describes the end time true Church of God as a tiny “remnant” that “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).
Do you keep (obey) the commandments of God and keep the testimony (gospel) of Jesus Christ? Your eternal salvation depends on your willingness to repent of your past transgressions (I John 3:4 and Romans 3:25). Lawlessness, or the willful laying aside of the law of God, so that we may continue to be RIGHTEOUS IN YOUR OWN SIGHT (Job 40:8) leads to eternal condemnation. The choice is yours, baptism by fire (second death) or baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ (Romans 6:1-10), as commanded by Peter in Acts 2:38.
CHOOSE WISELY!