An Arian’s Dilemma: Angels Worship YHWH Jesus
According to arian cultist Greg Stafford, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:43 in Hebrews 1:6 to highlight the fact of God commanding all his angels to worship Jesus, his Firstborn Son:
“… The fact is the author of Hebrews (whom Jehovah’s Witnesses believe to be the apostle Paul), under inspiration, quoted the interpretation of Psalm 8:5, as given in Psalm 8:6 of the LXX, showing that the angels of God’s heavenly court are “gods.” He revealed the same thing when in Hebrews 1:6 he quoted the LXX of Deuteronomy 32:43 or possibly Psalm 97:7.63 In both cases the Hebrew reads ’elohim and the LXX translates as “angels.” The same is true of Psalm 138:1, where again ’elohim is translated by ‘angels.’”
63 The LXX of De 32:43 is more likely the source of Paul’s quotation. It seems to have come from a Hebrew recension other than MT, which is reflected in 4QDeutq. See, Patrick W. Skehan, “A fragment of the ‘Song of Moses’ (Deut. 32) from Qumran,” BASOR 136 (1954), 12-15; Ernest Wurthwein, The Text of the Old Testament, trans. Erroll F. Rhodes (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979), 138, 9b; Arie Van Der Kooij, “The Ending of the Song of Moses: On the Pre-Masoretic Version of Deut 32:43,” in Studies in Deuteronomy. In Honour of C. J. Labuschagne on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday, eds. F. G. Martinez, A. Hilhorst, J. T. A. G. M. Van Ruiten, A.S. Van Der Woude (VTSup 53; Leiden: Brill, 1994), 93-100; Paul Sanders, The Provenance of Deuteronomy 32 (OTS 37; Leiden: Brill, 1996), 248-252, 422-425. On pages 426-429 Sanders discusses the relationship between Jehovah and the gods spoken of in verse 8 (see below) and verse 43 and the statements in verses 12 and 39, where it is said there are no gods “with” Jehovah. He concludes: “Verse 12 and verse 39 say that there is no god ‘with’ YHWH. These affirmations relate to his activity: YHWH is the only god who acts on behalf of Israel. In that respect there is no other god with him. . . . Though the conceptual background of the passage [De 32:8-9] may be archaic the message of the passage is completely in line with the ‘monotheistic’ affirmations in the song: other gods may exist—in fact they do—but for Israel the only significant god is YHWH. He is even the highest god… and the other gods… are subordinate to him” (ibid., 427). See ibid, pages 237-238 for more on De 32:39. (Stafford, Jehovah’s Witnesses Defended: An Answer to Scholars and Critics [Elihu Books, Huntington Beach, CA 1998], pp. 189-190; bold emphasis mine)
Ironically, Stafford is oblivious to how damning his admission is to his heretical arian views, as I am about to illustrate.
Elsewhere Stafford writes:
“… See also Hebrews 1:6 for the LXX quotation of Deuteronomy 32:43, which uses ‘angels’ for ‘gods.’…” (Stafford, The Letter of Jude: A New Translation According to the Text of P 72, p. 5 http://elihubooks.com/data/elihu_online_papers/000/000/005/Elihu_Online_Papers_5_Letter_of_Jude_Stafford.pdf)
Stafford has failed to see how the attribution of Deut. 32:43 to the risen Christ in Heb. 1:6 actually establishes Jesus’ identification as YHWH God Almighty.
Here is what the passage from Deut. states:
Deuteronomy 32:43 is an unusual verse in view of its contents. As the list of variant readings shows, 4QDeut-supported by the Septuagint-differs markedly from the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch. For example, in the Qumran scroll it is “the heavens” which rejoice, not the nations; and God will avenge the blood of “his sons,” not “his servants.” Moreover, the mention of gods “bowing down to God” and “recompensing those who hate him” is absent from the Masoretic Text and the Samaritan Pentateuch. This verse provides a striking example of the very different readings that sometimes appear in the Dead Sea Scrolls…
Rejoice, O heavens, together with him, and bow down to him all you gods, for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and will render vengeance to his enemies, and will recompense those who hate him and will atone for the land of his people. (Abegg, Flint & Ulrich, Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible Translated for the First Time into English, pp. 192, 193; bold emphasis mine)
“Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him (kai proskynesatosan auto angeloi theou); rejoice ye Gentiles, with his people, and let all the sons of God strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him; and the Lord shall purge the land of his people (kai ekkathariei Kyrios ten gen tou laou autou).” Deuteronomy 32:43 Brenton’s LXX
Notice Paul’s application of the aforementioned text:
“… When He had by Himself purged our sins (di’ heatou katharismon ton hamartion poiesamenos hemon), He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (en hyselois)… And again, when He brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him (kai proskynesatosan auto angeloi theou).’” Hebrews 1:3b, 6 Modern English Version (MEV)
Remarkably, not only does the Apostle have the angels worshipping Jesus as YHWH, he also has the Son doing what Deut. 32:43 attributes to YHWH, namely, purging or making atonement for sins!
Stafford is now faced with an insurmountable problem.
The Divine Being that Deut. 32:43 states will purge the land of his people and whom the angels must worship is not some secondary, inferior deity, but the one and only true God:
“Yahweh alone guided him, And there was no foreign god with him… But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— You grew fat, thick, and sleek— Then he abandoned God who made him, And treated the Rock of his salvation with wicked foolishness. They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread. You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the God who brought you forth… See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded, and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.” Deuteronomy 32:12, 15-18, 39 LSB
Therefore, Jesus cannot be some inferior divinity but must be the only true God YHWH (even though he is not the Father)!
As if this weren’t astonishing enough, the inspired author even describes Christ’s heavenly enthronement in the language of the following Psalm:
“Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high,” Psalm 113:5 LSB
“Who is as the Lord our God? who dwells in the high places (en hypselois),” Psalm 112:5 Brenton’s LXX
Note again how Paul applied the very words of the LXX to speak of Christ’s having been exalted to the right of the Father!
Now seeing that the Psalmist is clear that YHWH alone sits enthroned on high this means that the Apostle has essentially identified both the Father and the Son togther as that one YHWH God!
Stafford’s woes are far from over since it gets a whole lot worse for him.
As Stafford noted, the other possible verse that Hebrews may have had in mind is this one from the Psalms:
“Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, Who boast of idols; Worship Him, all you gods!… For You are Yahweh Most High over all the earth; You are exalted FAR ABOVE all gods.” Psalm 97:7, 9 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
“Let all that worship graven images be ashamed, who boast of their idols; worship him, all you his angels… For thou art Lord most high over all the earth; thou art greatly exalted above (hyperypsothes hyper) all gods.” Psalm 96:7, 9 LXX
In context, the God whom the angelic gods are commanded to worship is the One who is exalted far above them all, namely, YHWH Most High.
Therefore, if Hebrews is indeed citing from the Psalms, then this would again mean that the holy Apostle has identified Jesus as the human enfleshment and physical embodiment of the Most High God YHWH (while personally distinguishing him from the Father and the Holy Spirit).
That Paul is indeed describing the Son as YHWH God Almighty in the flesh is reinforced by the fact that elsewhere he says that it is the risen Jesus who has been exalted far above all creation. The Apostle even uses the same verb that the Greek version of the Psalter employs!
“Therefore, God also highly exalted ((hyperypsosen) Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above (hyper) every name,” Philippians 2:9 LSB
“and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of the might of His strength, which He worked in Christ, by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE ALL rule and authority and power and dominion, and EVERY name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put ALL THINGS in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head OVER ALL THINGS to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians 1:19-23 LSB
The evidence presented here leaves Stafford with no wiggle room. If he is to be honest to the biblical revelation, then Stafford has no choice but to accept that Jesus Christ is indeed YHWH Almighty who became a flesh and blood human being.
This in turns means that Stafford has to further acknowledge that the inspired Scriptures do not identify YHWH as a singular Person. Rather, Stafford must affirm that the God-breathed Scriptures identify YHWH as a tri-Personal Being, eternally existing as three Divine Persons, namely, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
There’s simply no way for Stafford to get around these revealed facts about the nature of the one true God.
Further Reading
THE ANGELS WORSHIP HIM! PT. 1, PT. 2
Is Michael the Ruler of Israel? Further Proof that Jesus isn’t an Archangel Pt. 4