Session 12

Q. Today we’ll start by studying verse 18 of the same chapter, ‘no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.’ John 1:18. My question is related to the portion of ‘no one has seen God ‘. I remember you saying, in a previous episode that it is possible for Man to see God. You illustrated this by the incidents of God appearing to His friend, Abraham, to his spokesman, Moses, and to the elders of Israel. I remember you said that the Holy Scripture said of the elders of Israel that they saw God, and ate and drank. How can you explain this contradiction?

A. There is no contradiction between the two facts: The Holy Scripture said that all of those saw God; meanwhile, John 1:18 says, ‘no one has seen God at any time'. In fact, if we remember some of the truth we’ve mentioned before, about the nature of God Almighty and his collective unity, the matter becomes very simple and easy to understand? We had said that God’s collective unity (monotheism) means that God Almighty, forever seated on His throne, filling heaven and earth, is not governed by the factor of time; He never slumbers nor sleeps. The Son, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), and the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of God are God Almighty. It is therefore God, His Word and His Spirit; the three are One. When the Holy Scripture reveals that ‘no one has seen God at any time’, the reference is made to God the Father, who has never taken human body, and was never found in appearance as a Man. He is therefore light filling heaven and earth. He has neither body organs, nor materialistic appearance; He has never incarnated: neither before, nor after the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) came to earth. The verse stating that no one has seen God at any time is therefore true; and is illustrated further when God’s spokesman, Moses said to Him; ‘please, show me your glory’. The Almighty answered, 'you cannot see my face; for no Man shall see me, and live? Exodus 33:18 and 20

Q. Then who was it that appeared to Abraham, Moses and others?

A. It was God incarnated; He comes in human body: the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name). As we said before, He is the second hypostasis, known as The Son. He was the One who came in human body, and talked with Man – to revealing to Man and inform him about God the Father whom no Man could see and live.

Q. Did the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) state, Himself, what you just said? Or is this an opinion inspired by Christian philosophy about the appearance of the Almighty to people?

A. The Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), Himself has confirmed this truth on various occasions, and in several ways. When Philips, one of his followers asked him, ‘Lord, show us the

Father and it is sufficient for us’. John 14:8, the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) answered, ‘have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father.’ John 14:19.

Q. Is the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) the Father? Haven’t you just said that no one can see God the Father; and that the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) is known as God the Son, and not God the Father?

A. The Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) is not God the Father. He has never said that about Himself, not once throughout the New Testament, that He was God the Father. He replied to Philip saying ‘he who has seen me has seen the Father.’ He never said, ‘I am the Father’. His words conforms with that truth that God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) only, who could be seen. He was the One entrusted with the process of incarnation, and appearance to people on various occasions. This also supports John 1:18, ‘no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him’.

Q. How about the Holy Spirit, could Man see Him?

A. Of course not. The Holy Spirit could not be seen either; only His effect in those whom He dwells could be witnessed. No one has seen God the Father, and no one has seen God the Holy Spirit. As for God the Word, the Son, He could be seen. He was the One who walked the streets of Palestine about 2000years ago: The person of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name). Since God is One, and has no partner; since He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then he who has seen the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), the Son has seen the One God Almighty - again confirming John 1:18 ‘no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.’

Q. I have two important questions to ask regarding this verse. First: What does ‘the only begotten Son’ mean?

A. The word ‘Son’ refers to the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) known as the Son of God. We have explained in previous episodes that God is One; He has no partner and no equal, ‘He begets not nor was He begotten. And there is none comparable to Him’. (Surat Al Ikhlas 112:3,4). We also explained that the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) was called Son of God because the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, came upon the Virgin St Mary, whom God has chosen and blessed above all other women, and she conceived in The Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name). He therefore took a human body and dwelt with Man. He had no earthly (human) Father, as we said; the Lord Jesus is the appearance of God in human form; the essence of the Almighty revealed in human body. The word Son, therefore, is definitely not meant for physical reproduction, God forbids. As for ‘the only begotten son’ phrase, it means He has an irreplaceable nature - that of God Almighty; which makes him the One God, incomparable, and precious among His entire creation.

Q. The second question is: What does in ‘the bosom of the Father’ mean?

A. This phrase gives the impression of one being in the bosom of the other! We’ve already explained the meaning of the Father and the Son in details. As for the ‘bosom’, it does not imply a place; so much as it implies a status, or a position. God Almighty has no bosom; He fills the heaven and the earth. Even if He had a bosom, who could dwell within it save God Almighty alone who has no partner? The bosom of the Father denotes His status and position – the place of precedence in the throne of God Almighty. This is another evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) is God Almighty revealed in human flesh. Thus confirming the collective unity (Monotheism), of which we spoke earlier.

Q. John 1:19 and 20 states, ‘Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent Priests and Levies from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘who are you?’ What is the difference between the Priests and the Levies?

A. It is well known that certain Jewish Priests in the old were from the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Priests in general were always chosen from the household of Prophet Aaron, brother of Moses, the spokesman of God Almighty. Those were in charge of all that was to be done in the Tabernacle of the meeting, or the Jewish Temple, and also offering of sacrifices. As for the Levies, called after their father, Levi, Son of Jacob, Son of Isaac, Son of Abraham, those were in charge of servicing the Tabernacle, or Temple: guard-watching, carrying, etc. The reason they went to see John the Baptist – who also belonged to the tribe of Levi, and whose father was a priest – is that they found him calling the People of Israel to repent, go back to God Almighty, and make straight the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name).

Q. Why did they ask him, knowing that the characteristics of the anticipated Messiah did not apply to him? Why then ask whether he was the Christ (Messiah)?

A. The Jews did not at first ask John the Baptist if he was the Messiah. They asked him, disapprovingly, ‘who are you?’ This was because they knew that John was of a known origin and known paternity, which did not apply to the Christ that the Jews were waiting for. They found him to be a wild man, who lived in the mountains, calling for repentance and forgiveness of sins. As for the Christ that they had expected, He would be a political leader, who should come to give back the kingdom to Israel, and give them victory over their enemies. People were in a state of confusion and anticipation, since the period that preceded the appearance of John the Baptist, about 400 years, was silent on the part of the Almighty. After having sent out Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, the Almighty stopped all revelations, and sent no other prophets to the people of Israel. There was no word from God to the people of Israel for a very long time. People waited for the Messiah to come and break this stagnation with mighty power that would deliver them from the Roman occupancy. That’s the reason why they went to ask the Baptist if he was the Christ

Q. If the priests and Levies did not ask the Baptist if he was the Christ, merely asking, ‘who are you’, then why did he answer saying that he was not the Christ?

A. As I said, because every body was expecting the Christ, or the Messiah, this during a period of absolute silence on the part of the Almighty, as we said previously. He knew what was on their minds, and that they were confused about him. He did not carry the traits of the expected Christ, yet he called for repentance; and people came to him admitting their sins, and receiving baptism at his hands: He submerged them in water as an indication and confirmation of their repentance before people. That’s why verse 20 of John, chapter 1(John 1:20) says that he ‘confessed, did not deny, but confessed ‘that he was not the Christ.

Q. What use are the three confirmations, ‘he confessed, and did not deny, but confessed.’ Wasn’t one of them enough? Especially that John was denying any claim that he was the anticipated Messiah. Should he have claimed that he was the Christ, he would’ve needed confirmation through more than one way to convince them. But to deny this attribute, he needn’t have stressed as such.

A. As I said before, the Jews were readily prepared for the appearance of the Messiah. The story of nativity of the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) had definitely been in the memories of people. Also the confusion that overtook Jerusalem the day He appeared in human flesh, and the Roman King Herod killing all young children (infants under 2 years of age), hoping to kill the King of the Jews, who was coming to the world, were all recalled, and people reflected on them. Now, after 400 years of complete silence on the side of the Almighty, when a Prophet starts to appear, it was only natural, from their perspective, that he would be the Messiah. John, Son of Zechariah had to confirm to the Jews that he was not the Christ (Messiah) coming to the world. Confession on the part of John meant publicizing, declaring, and not concealing. ‘He did not deny’ implied transparency and honesty; whereas the second, ‘but confessed’ means determination to the decision he has taken; thus to declare to all mankind that he was not the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name).

Q. Dr Nagi, it is clear that verse 21 of John chapter 1, has great importance in clarifying who is John, Son of Zechariahs, and who is the Christ (Messiah). It is written in the Holy Scripture that the Jews asked John the Baptist saying, ‘what then’? Are you Elijah? He said, ‘I am not’. ‘Are you the Prophet’? And he answered, 'no'. What is the story of Elijah, and who is the Prophet they are asking about in this verse?

A. The story of Elijah is that there is a prophecy in the book of Malachi, one of the books of the Old Testament that says, ‘behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.’ Malachi 4:5. I would like to draw your attention to a fact, that this was the last revelation of a prophecy in the Old Testament; it was 400 years before the incidence we are discussing. During this time the Almighty was silent, and sent out no word and no prophets. There was, accordingly, a misconception that Elijah had to come, physically, to earth before the Messiah came. This misconception has many references in the Talmud, most of which are based on a misunderstanding of this prophecy. As John the Baptist confessed, did not deny, but confessed, that he was not Christ (Messiah), the Jews thought he might be Elijah returning to earth, as Malachi prophesied; or rather as they understood his prophecy. So they asked the Baptist, ‘are you Elijah? He said, ‘I am not’.

Q. Dr. Nagi, before you resume your answer. You said that there was a wrong conception that Elijah would come before the Messiah came. You said in the prophecy you just quoted, that God Almighty would send Elijah before ‘the great and dreadful day of the Lord.’ How can this riddle be solved?

A. The answer to this riddle is in Matthew 17:10, when the disciples asked the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), ‘why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? Jesus answered and said to them, ‘indeed, Elijah is coming first, and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. Like wise the Son of man is also about to suffer at their hands’ then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist, Matthew 17:10-13.

Q. You mean to say that the Lord Christ (Glory be to His Name) says of John the Baptist that he is Elijah coming to the word. Was John, Son of Zechariahs Elijah or not? If he was, then why did he tell the Jews that he wasn’t? If he wasn’t, then why did the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name) say that he was?

A. The Jews asked John the Baptist if he was, physically, Prophet Elijah. He said, ‘no.’ John the Baptist, was Son of Zechariahs; he was not Elijah sent back to the world. As for the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), He said that John was Elijah, meaning the spirit of Elijah, not the person or the body of Elijah – rather the nature, call, and revelation of Elijah. This is clear in Luke 1:17, when the angel appeared to Zechariahs in the temple and announced to him a son most pure, the angel said, ‘he will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children; and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord’. Luke 1:17. Then John the Baptist was honest when he said about himself that he was not Prophet Elijah, as perceived by the Jews. And the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), the most truthful, and most integral, was right when he said of John that he was Elijah.

Q. Does the statement, ‘go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah’, and refer in any sense to transmigration of souls. Meaning the spirit of Elijah appearing in the body of John, Son of Zechariahs?

A. ‘Go before him in the spirit of Elijah’ does not in any sense, be it near or far, relate to transmigration of souls. Christianity does not believe in the theory of ‘metempsychosis or transmigration of souls’. This statement does not mean that the spirit of Elijah appeared in the body of Prophet John, Son of Zechariahs, as he went before the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name). This is but a metaphorical illustration, a figure of speech, and not a literal event. For example we could say: people act in the spirit of the 4^th of July. The 4^th of July does not have a spirit; it is but a figurative expression, similar to the one we are explaining.

Q. About the rest of verse 21, as Prophet John the Baptist denied that he was the Christ or the Messiah, the Jews asked him an even stranger question, ‘are you the Prophet? I’ve noticed that they did not ask him; are you a Prophet?’ but rather ‘the Prophet’, thus indicating they are speaking of a specific Prophet that they of whom they have established a preconception. Who in your opinion is that Prophet?

A. The Jews were speaking of a specific Prophet, having specific qualities that Moses, God’s spokesman had prophesied would appear among them. This was a prophecy that the Holy Scripture had recorded in Deuteronomy 18:15, ‘the Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear’ Deuteronomy is the last book of the Torah among the five books of Moses. This prophecy caused the Jews to ask John, Son of Zechariahs, if he was the promised Prophet. But John was determined and clearly answered: ‘not I’. It is clear that John did not deny the coming of the Messiah, or the coming of the Prophet. He spoke as if of someone that he already knew; but they didn’t. He told them in John 1:26, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ (Glory be to His Name), ‘but there stands one among you whom you do not know’.

Q. Dr. Nagi, you know that some beloved non-Christians use this prophecy, recorded in Deuteronomy 18:15, claiming that it is referring to the Prophet of Islam, who lived at the end of the sixth century and beginning of the seventh century. In fact we do not have enough time to study this issue in details; we’ll deal with it in a coming episode, though, God willing. But before we conclude this episode, I would like to ask you if it was possible, in your opinion that the Prophet of Islam is the one referred to in this prophecy; and if you have any evidence to support your opinion?

A. The Prophet of Islam could not possibly be meant in this prophecy. I have many proofs, and if I had the time, I would have recounted some.