83. The idea that a Son born from eternity came down and took upon Himself human form collapses as totally erroneous and is exploded on considering the passages from the Word in which Jehovah Himself says that He is the Saviour and Redeemer, as the following:

Am I not Jehovah, and there is no God beside Me? There is no righteous God and Saviour beside Me, Isaiah 45:21-22.

I am Jehovah, and there is no Saviour beside Me, Isaiah 43:11.

I am Jehovah your God, and you are not to acknowledge any God beside Me, and there is no Saviour beside Me, Hosea 13:4.

That all flesh may know that I am Jehovah your Saviour and your Redeemer, Isaiah 49:26; 60:16.

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is His name, Isaiah 47:4.

Their Redeemer, the mighty Jehovah Zebaoth is His name, Jeremiah 50:34.

Jehovah, my rock and my Redeemer, Psalms 19:14.

Thus spoke Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am Jehovah your God, Isaiah 48:17; 43:14; 49:7.

Thus spoke Jehovah, your Redeemer; I am Jehovah who makes all things, and I alone by Myself, Isaiah 44:24.

Thus spoke Jehovah, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth; I am the First and the Last, and there is no God beside me, Isaiah 44:6.

You are Jehovah our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name, Isaiah 63:16.

I will take pity with eternal mercy, thus spoke your Redeemer Jehovah, Isaiah 54:8. You had redeemed me, Jehovah of truth, Psalms 31:5.

Let Israel hope in Jehovah, for there is mercy with Jehovah, with Him is very much redemption. He shall redeem Israel from all his sins, Psalms 130:7-8.

Jehovah Zebaoth ¹ is His name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He shall be called the God of all the earth, Isaiah 54:5.

From these and very many more passages anyone who has eyes, and a mind opened by using his eyes, can see that God, who is one, came down and was made man in order to effect redemption. Can anyone fail to see this as clear as in morning light, so long as he pays attention to those very sayings of God which have been quoted? Those, however, who are plunged in the shades of night as the result of convincing themselves that a second God was born from eternity, and that it was He who came down and redeemed us, close their eyes to those Divine sayings, and ponder with their eyes shut how to pervert them and make them square with their false ideas.

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739. 'A flood of waters' means the onset of temptation. This is clear from the fact that the temptation dealt with here regards things of the understanding, which temptation, as has been stated, comes first and is mild. Consequently it is called 'a flood of waters' and not simply a flood, as in verse 17 below. For the primary meaning of 'waters' is man's spiritual things, matters of faith in the understanding, and also their opposites, which are falsities, as may be confirmed from so many places in the Word.

[2] That a flood of waters or a deluge means temptation is clear from what has been shown in the preliminary section of this chapter, ¹ and also in Ezekiel,

Thus said the Lord Jehovah, I will make a stormy wind ² break out in My wrath, and there will be a deluging rain in My anger, and hailstones in rage to consume it, so that I may break down the wall you daub with whitewash. Ezekiel 13:11, 13-14.

Here 'stormy wind ² and 'deluging rain' stand for the desolation of falsity, 'a wall daubed with whitewash' for a fabrication which looks like the truth. In Isaiah,

Jehovah God is a shelter from the deluge, a shade from the heat, for the spirit of violent men is like a deluge against a wall. Isaiah 25:4.

Here 'deluge' stands for temptation as regards things of the understanding, which is quite different from temptation as regards things of the will, which is called 'heat'.

[3] In the same prophet,

Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong, like a deluge of hail, a destroying tempest, like a deluge of mighty overflowing waters. Isaiah 28:2.

This describes degrees of temptation. In the same prophet, When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not deluge you. When you go through fire you will not be burned, and the flame will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2.

Here 'waters' and 'rivers' stand for falsities and delusions,' fire' and 'flame' for evils and evil desires. In David,

Therefore everyone who is holy will pray to You at a time of discovering. In the deluge of many waters they will not reach him. You are a hiding-place for me, You will save me from distress. Psalms 32:6-7.

Here 'deluge of waters' stands for temptation, which is also called a flood in the same author,

Jehovah sits over the flood; and Jehovah sits as King for ever. Psalms 29:10.

These quotations and those given in the preliminary section of this chapter ¹ show that a flood or deluge of waters means nothing other than temptations and vastations, even though according to the custom of the most ancient people the description is of historical events.

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