Dear Friends,

This is my seventh post of direct commentary on How Jesus Became God, by Bart Ehrman. Check here for my introductory comments…especially if you’re wondering what today’s post has to do with the resurrection!

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So, Bart Ehrman and I agree that the book of Isaiah teaches monotheism.

The problem is that Ehrman sets Isaiah’s monotheism in opposition to the supposed henotheism taught by the writer of Exodus. I already presented my rebuttal of this position here, but today, since I’ve been going through Isaiah with my boys lately anyway, I thought it would fun to dwell with Isaiah’s monotheism for a while.

You will notice that Isaiah states his monotheism multiple times, in divers ways…in fact, it becomes comical at some point how hard he’s working to drive the point home.

Don’t laugh at Isaiah though…keep in mind that the reason he’s beating this drum so hard is because there were a lot of, ahem, deaf people in the crowd!

The Bible doctrine that is possibly the hardest one to miss, à la Isaiah

I put the salient portions of each verse in all caps, for convenience.

Enjoy!

[Isa 37:16 KJV] 16 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest [between] the cherubims, thou [art] the God, [even] THOU ALONE, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

[Isa 43:10 KJV] 10 Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: BEFORE ME THERE WAS NO GOD FORMED, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE AFTER ME.

[Isa 44:6 KJV] 6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and BESIDE ME [THERE IS] NO GOD.

[Isa 44:8 KJV] 8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. IS THERE A GOD BESIDE ME? YEA, [THERE IS] NO GOD; I know not [any].

[Isa 45:5 KJV] 5 I [am] the LORD, and [there is] NONE ELSE, [there is] no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

[Isa 45:6 KJV] 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that [there is] NONE BESIDE ME. I [am] the LORD, and [there is] NONE ELSE.

[Isa 45:14 KJV] 14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, [saying], Surely God [is] in thee; and [there is] NONE ELSE, [there is] no God.

[Isa 45:18 KJV] 18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I [am] the LORD; and [there is] NONE ELSE.

[Isa 45:22 KJV] 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I [am] God, and [there is] NONE ELSE.

[Isa 46:9 KJV] 9 Remember the former things of old: for I [am] God, and [there is] NONE ELSE; [I am] God, and [there is] none like me,

[Isa 48:12 KJV] 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I [am] he; I [AM] THE FIRST, I ALSO [AM] THE LAST.

And for the grand finale, the one that I think is the most explicit:

[Isa 45:21 KJV] 21 Tell ye, and bring [them] near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? [who] hath told it from that time? [have] not I the LORD? and [THERE IS] NO GOD ELSE BESIDE ME; a just God and a Saviour; [there is] none beside me.

Not so fast

Some of us are probably shaking our heads at the foolishness of the people who failed to pick up on, or flatly rejected, the monotheism in these passages.

However, there’s something that we professing monotheists always need to keep in mind:

[Jas 2:18 KJV] 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I WILL SHEW THEE MY FAITH BY MY WORKS.

God bless,

TFOTF