The Issue: The validity of the Trinitarian translation.
The Trinitarian
Claim
Trinitarians claim this verse identifies Jesus as the God. Indeed, they claim that God himself is calling Jesus "God."
What the Evidence will Show
The facts will show that Trinitarians are resorting to wishful thinking. The facts will reveal they opt for a translation that is foreign to the context and deny the translation that fits the context perfectly. The facts will also illustrate how the Trinitarian translation results in the absurd implication of God addressing another as God, and not only so, God then also refers to the anointing of this God's God. The facts will also show the passage is intended to say that Jesus has ascended to the throne of God and is therefore above all the angels.
Examination of the Evidence
Hebrews 1:8 is a quotation of Psalm 45:6. The above translation of Hebrews 1:8 is an example of extreme Trinitarian translation bias. Here they outrageously try to claim that God is addressing Jesus as "God." Their translation is not the most natural reading of the original Greek text and it crudely violates the context in order to promote Trinitarian doctrine.
Trinitarian Greek scholars themselves openly admit the Greek grammar does indeed allow for a different translation. Therefore, the proper translation of this passage is not a Greek grammar question, but a question of theological interpretation in order to determine which one is correct. For example, the RSV, a Trinitarian version, translates the original passage quoted here as, " Your divine throne endures for ever and ever." (Psalm 45:6). This demonstrates Trinitarian Greek scholars admit a different translation is just as accurate on grammatical grounds alone. However, most Trinitarian scholars are so eager to look for reasons why they can justify the preferred Trinitarian translation that they fail to see the obvious meaning intended in this passage. The main intention of this passage is to indicate and describe the authority of Jesus that resulted due to his resurrection glory.
The Greek text literally reads, "the throne of you the god to the age of the age." The writer of Hebrews is simply saying that Jesus is exalted to the throne of God in heaven and as such he is not trying to demonstrate that "Jesus is God" but that Jesus has ascended to the throne of God and is therefore above the angels with all authority.
"God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
"All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18).
Baptism... an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him. (1 Peter 3:21-22; see Heb 4:14).
"He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." (Revelation 3:21).
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:17).
Psalm 45:6
Hebrews 1:8-9 is a quotation of the Septuagint translation of Psalm 45:6-7. The 45th Psalm is a love song for the Davidic king's marriage to a foreign princess from Tyre in Phoenicia. The following represents how an English translation would look by translating the verse as "Your throne O God." Remember, this is being said to the human Davidic King who is marrying the princess of Tyre.
You are the fairest of the sons of men. Grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, In your splendor and your majesty! And in your majesty ride forth victoriously, for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; Let your right hand teach you awesome things. Your arrows are sharp; the peoples fall under you; Your arrows are in the heart of the King's enemies. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you With the oil of joy above your fellows. All your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad. Kings' daughters are among your noble ladies; at your right hand stands the queen in gold from Ophir. Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father's house; Then the King will desire your beauty. Because he is your Lord, bow down to him. The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; the rich among the people will seek your favor. The King's daughter is all glorious within; her clothing is interwoven with gold. She will be led to the King in embroidered work; the virgins, her companions who follow her, will be brought to You. They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing; they will enter into the King's palace. In place of your fathers will be your sons; you shall make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore the peoples will give you thanks forever and ever. (Psalm 45).
The Trinitarian translation does not pan out very well when we look at it this way does it? The rabbinic authorities have various views on this passage. Ibn Ezra translates the passage in question as "your throne is [the throne of] God" and understands the person in question to be King David. The Targum and Kimchi understood this Psalm to refer to Messiah, and the marriage referred to his redemption of Israel. Like many Psalms, it likely refers to both David and the Messiah.
Now this passage must apply to a human King. He is marrying the princess of Tyre. Now it should be rather obvious to most people that God would not be referring to the Davidic human King as "God." The RSV translates the passage as "Your divine throne endures forever and ever." This captures the sense of the passage. Also notice verse 11, "because he is your Lord bow down to him." One bows down to the Davidic King because he is Lord. This is a common concept in the Old Testament. The same thing is occurring here in Hebrews chapter one (see Acts 2:36). We can see from a review of the original passage that God is not calling this Davidic King "God" but is referring to that fact that he sits upon a divinely established throne. This is similar to 1 Chronicles 29:23 which says, "Then Solomon sat on the throne of YAHWEH as king instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him." This is the divinely established throne God established through his covenant with David, "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16), and concerning Jesus the Messiah we are reminded of this same covenant promise by Luke, "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David" (1:35). Clearly, this passage is not a reference to the King as "God" but to the divine establishment of his throne. We have the very same situation here in Hebrews 1:8.
The Grammar of the Original Greek
Let us first look at the original Greek text as it was originally written:
The passage simply says, "the throne of you the God to the age of the age." These words come out a bit oddly even in the Greek language. Now as we shall soon clearly see, the passage is intended to mean the Son has ascended above the angels to the throne of God his Father. The idea expressed here is that Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God and sits in authority and power at the throne on God's right hand in a very similar manner to Joseph sitting at the right hand of Pharaoh in Egypt and was given authority of the whole estate. This is true by virture of his resurrection glory. Nowhere do we find in the context the writer trying to advocate the concept that Jesus is to be identified as "God." The entire theme of Hebrews 1 is to illustrate that Jesus has greater authority and power than angels because they are only ministering servants (1:14) but Jesus, being made a man lower than the angels, has now ascended to the right hand of the throne of God and is therefore above the angels.
The Structure of the Passage
"The throne of you the God to the age of the age.
The sceptre of righteousness the sceptre of your kingdom/kingship."
Notice the parallelism between "the throne of you the God" and the sceptre of rightesousness and kingdom authority. The predominant theme is the authoritative power Jesus has appropriated by sitting at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus' resurrection glory of being clothed in the fullness of the Spirit of the Living
God is his throne and power (cf. Matthew 16:27; 25:31).
The Immediate Context
Notice the recurring them in the first chapter of Hebrews.
"Having made purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of Majesty on High having become so much better than the angels." (1:3-4).
"To which of the angels did He ever say...." The throne of you the God to the age of the age." (1:5,8).
"To which of the angels did He ever say, " Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (1:13).
Notice how our interpretation which says verse 1:8 means that Jesus sits on God's right hand at His throne is not only totally consistent with the flow of thought in the first chapter of Hebrews but the entire context demands it.
God's God?
Now there is yet more. Let us use the Trinitarian translation and then ask ourselves how this translation of theirs fits with the next verse, Hebrews 1:9.
"But to the Son he [God] says, 'O God, your throne is forever and ever. The sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of your kingdom/kingship. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your partners.'" (Hebrews 1:8-9)
Something is very wrong here. In the Trinitarian translation, they have God the Father speaking to God the Son, "O God," and then God the Father tells God the Son that he, God the Father, is God the Son's God, "God, your God." It is ridiculously preposterous. God the Son has a God? What insanity! How can Trinitarians expect anyone to believe anything they say when they are so blind to such an obvious contradiction?
As a Result of His Resurrection
It is also interesting how God says that he has anointed the Son above his "comrades." This is precisely the same thing said at Hebrews 1:4.
"Having made purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of Majesty on High having become so much better than the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs." (1:4).
"You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades."
It is also interesting how God is telling the Son that he has given him an honor above his "partners." The word here suggests a commonality between Jesus and the angels.
Now let us carefully observe something very important. The writer is referring to an event which has occurred in time. This showering of words upon Jesus is due to his resurrection glory and ascension to the throne of God and his inheritance of that glory upon his resurrection. Notice how all these things came to be when Jesus became greater than the angels.
.
Having made purification for our sins,
sat down at the right hand of Majesty on High
having become so much better than the angels as
the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness
thefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your comrades
Sit at my right hand till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet
He BECAME better than the angels. God became better than the angels? If we look into the next chapter we find the writer discussing how Jesus being a man was made lower than the angels. But now in his resurrection glory he is above the angels. Indeed, we too will be raised into glory and it is for this reason that even we will be judging the angels as Paul declares.
In the end, we have abundant evidence to demonstrate the complete error of the Trinitarian claim. Hebrews 1:4, 1:5,8, and 1:13 all say essentially the same thing. It does not makes sense for God to be calling the Son God and then telling the Son in that very context that he is the God of that God. And we can see the intention in the passage is to show Jesus has been exalted above the angels and so he is better than the angels. Being better than the angels does not result in being God. Indeed, we ourselves will be judging angels.
The Wider Context of Hebrews
Notice the consistent theme of Hebrews is that Jesus is our great High Priest because he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God in the heavens above the servant angels. Also notice the similar language and how the writer sums up what he has been saying all along at Hebrews 8:1.
"Having made purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of Majesty on High having become so much better than the angels." (1:3).
"To which of the angels did He ever say, "Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (1:13).
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (4:14-16).
"And the sum concerning the things having been said: we have such a high priest, who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (8:1).
"Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (12:2).
"And He, having offered one sacrifice for sin once for all time sat down on the right hand of God" (10:12)
"Having made a purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High" (1:3).
"To the Son He says, 'The throne of you the God to the age of the age. The sceptre of righteousness the sceptre of your kingdom/kingship" (1:8).
Especially take note of the language of 1:3 and 8:1 and 12:2 in comparison to Hebrews 1:8, "at the right hand of the throne of Majesty/God."
The force of the context of Hebrews is powerful and indicates that the proper interpretation of Hebrews 1:8 is to understand that Jesus has ascended to the throne of God and sits at God's right hand in power. Any other interpretation seriously does violence to the context of the written word. The entire theme of the passage is that the human being Jesus, who was made lower than the angels, and suffered for our sins, ascended to the right hand of the throne of God and for this reason he is over the angels. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to suppose Hebrews 1:8 is suggesting Jesus is God. None. What does the Trinitarian have at Hebrews 1:8 in support of his doctrine? Absolutely nothing but his own desire to have the passage appeal to his doctrine of the Trinity, but unfortunately it doesn't.
"To which of the angels did He ever say... 'the throne of you the God to the age of the age" (1:5-8).
Just five verses before verse 8 and five verses after verse 8, the writer of Hebrews says the very same thing with slightly different words:
"Having made purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of Majesty on High." (1:3).
"To which of the angels did He ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (1:13).
Summation of the Facts
- The Greek text literally reads, "the throne of you the god to the age of the age"
- The verse is a quotation of Psalm 45:6 where we read the Davidic king is marrying the princess of tyre
- The structure of the verse parallels "the throne of you the god" with "the sceptre of your kingship/reign"
- The Trinitarian translation absurdly results in God having a God
- The context is referring to what happened as a result of Jesus' resurrection and we are told he became better than the angels.
- The entire passage is about Jesus ascending to the right hand of the throne of God. Indeed, this theme is mentioned three times in this chapter alone.
Call for Discernment
If we are truly honest with ourselves here the truth is quite plain. Jesus became better than the angels. Hebrews 1:8 obviously means that Jesus' authority is the authority of sitting at the right hand of the throne of God until the end of the age and he obtained that authority by virtue of his resurrection glory. His throne is God's throne. As he himself says, "I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne"
"Having made purification for our sins, sat down at the right hand of Majesty on High having become so much better than the angels as much as he has inherited a better name than them." (Verse 3).
"To which of the angels did He ever say... 'the throne of you the God to the age of the age" (Verse 5-8).
"To which of the angels did He ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (Verse 13).
The only reasonable translation of Hebrews 1:8 is to understand the words "the God" to mean that Jesus has the inherited the authority of God's throne.
"I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne." (Revelation 3:21).
