Unbiblical Unitarians

Here's my PERSONAL take on

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

13 For He rescued us from the adomain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of bHis beloved Son,

14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

. The reprint of Kel's analysis didn't cover the point of what the Scripture means by "firstborn" WHEN it SPECIFICALLY REFERS to Yeshua. I have realized that is the KEY to understand this passage. I submit that the meaning of “firstborn” at

means “firstborn of the dead” and understanding of v. 15-18 depend on this. I will demonstrate that “firstborn” ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead” when SPECIFICALLY REFERRING to Yeshua. Blessings

Many people believe (referring

) that, The first reference (v. 15) is about Yeshua and his "NATURAL PRE-EMINENCE" as God’s firstborn son.” I must first point out that the term “firstborn son” is NEVER used in the NT in relation to Yeshua. Check it out for yourself. While Yeshua is "son of God", he is NEVER called "firstborn son of God". This is one of the reasons people are confused about this passage. They ASSUME “firstborn” means “firstborn son”. As I will demonstrate, IT DOES NOT.

I will demonstrate that “firstborn” ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead” when SPECIFICALLY REFERRING to Yeshua. Most also believe Paul switches context in v. 18 and that's where he begins talking about Yeshua being “firstborn of the dead” and that is the ONLY verse in the passage that is about him being “the firstborn from the dead.” I DISAGREE and I hope to conclusively demonstrate this.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may have pre-eminence in everything.

I think the first question we need to answer is: When did Yeshua become “the image of the invisible God”? I believe this happened at the resurrection when he received his “spiritual” or “heavenly” body. When Elohim resurrected the human Yeshua, he was TRANSFORMED from “flesh” to “spirit”. God is “Spirit”. Human flesh is not FULLY the “image” of the “invisible God”. Yeshua said, “That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit” (

). There is no evidence that he was “the image of the invisible God” before this time. “Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (

). Yeshua went from flesh to incorruptible spirit; the NT does not say anywhere that he went from being a spirit to flesh to being an incorruptible spirit (resurrected human being).

In order to ensure we understand what this term means, we MUST look at ALL the OTHER REFERENCES to Yeshua as being the “firstborn” I hope you will agree that we must know how this term is used AS IT APPLIES SPECIFICALLY TO HIM to understand what it means when we see it in the Scriptures. Following are every reference to it.

1.

- “And I WILL MAKE HIM THE FIRSTBORN, the highest of the kings of the earth”. Yeshua must be MADE the FIRSTBORN at some time in the future AFTER this scripture / prophesy is written. This scripture is quoted at

with the additional information that the term “firstborn,” WHENEVER seen by itself and is alluding SPECIFICALLY to Yeshua, ALWAYS MEANS the “firstborn of the dead”, even if a scripture doesn’t use the whole phrase. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT to keep in mind and will be fully demonstrated herein.

“…and from Yeshua the Messiah the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth” (

quoting

).

Yeshua will become the ruler (highest) “of kings of the EARTH” when he comes to establish his earthly kingdom, NOT before. Remember, when he was on earth he specifically said his kingdom was “NOT of this world”. But it WILL BE when he returns to earth. Therefore, when this prophecy in

calls him “firstborn”, it MUST be alluding to him being the “firstborn of the dead” because this prophecy can ONLY be fulfilled AFTER his resurrection. It being quoted and clarified at

conclusively demonstrates this to be true.

2.

- “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN.” We are predestined to “be conformed” to the “image” of Yeshua (who HAS BECOME the image of the invisible God). The only image of Yeshua to which we CAN conform, and are PREDESTINED to conform to, is his resurrected body. He is the “firstborn” of many (future resurrected) brothers.

So, this scripture also CANNOT be about Yeshua’s “pre-eminence” when the universe was created, especially since he had not even been born yet and had no brothers. It refers to his pre-eminence over his HUMAN “brothers” as the “firstborn of the dead” and is also related to verse 18. Here we have additional evidence that when we see the term “firstborn” by itself and it is SPECIFICLLY alluding to Yeshua, it ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead.”

3.

– “And again, when he brings the FIRSTBORN into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (quoting

“…worship him all you gods [elohim]. The CONTEXT of

to 2:5 is ALL about “the world to come” (the ‘renewed creation’). “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, OF WHICH WE ARE SPEAKING” (

).

is talking about when the RESURRECTED KING Yeshua (the firstborn of the dead) comes into his earthly Kingdom, he will be worshipped by angels (lesser gods).

Look at

. “For to which of the angels (elohim) did God ever say: ‘You are my Son; TODAY I have become Your Father.’ Or again: ‘I WILL BE His Father, and He WILL BE My Son’”? What does Luke tell us? “God has FULFILLED THIS to us their children BY RAISING UP YESHUA, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are My Son; TODAY I have BEGOTTEN YOU” (

). Luke IS SPEAKING OF THE FULFILLED PROPHESY OF THE RESURRECTED ultimate Son of David - YESHUA. Luke says God BECAME his Father TODAY… ALLUDING to THE DAY GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD which is THE DAY Yeshua BECAME THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD. I’m putting in the following passage so you can see I am totally IN CONTEXT WITH THIS ANALYSIS:

4.

- 30But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 THIS HE HAS FULFILLED to us their children BY RAISING YESHUA, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’”

Where is there any reference to his “natural pre-eminence” as the preexisting “son” or “spirit of the son” or whatever? There is no record ANYWHERE in the Tanakh of angels or lesser elohim worshipping a preexistent spirit of the Messiah. This passage was always referring the heavenly worship Yeshua WILL receive in “the world to come” WHICH IS THE CONTEXT of

(confirmed @

). Perhaps he is receiving it even now since his has been resurrected and we are told “all things (except his enemies) HAVE BEEN PUT under his feet.” Who knows?

5.

– “22 But YOU HAVE COME to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriad angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRSTBORN, having been enrolled in the heavens, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous having been made perfect, to Yeshua the mediator…” Look at the language here: “Mount Zion”, “city of the living God”, “enrolled in the heavens” and especially the time frame as being when “the spirits of the righteous having BEEN MADE PERFECT.” This is clearly referring to believers MEMBERSHIP in the ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRSTBORN of the DEAD, not a preeminent Yeshua. This is further evidence that WHENEVER we see “FIRSTBORN” SPECIFICALLY REFERRING to Yeshua, it ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead”.

6.

– “…5 and from Yeshua the Messiah the faithful witness, THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD and the ruler of kings on earth”. As I pointed out in #1, THIS is the final proof that the use of the term “FIRSTBORN” when SPECIFICALLY ALLUDING to Yeshua, ALWAYS MEANS “firstborn of the dead” EVEN IF it doesn’t actually say it. This brings us full circle back

WHICH IS THE ONLY OTHER PLACE in the entire BIBLE that uses “firstborn” SPECIFICALLY ALLUDING to Yeshua. Therefore, for proper biblical exegesis, THIS VERSE CANNOT APPLY AN ENTIRELY NEW RULE regarding what “firstborn” means when SPECIFICALLY ALLUIDING to Yeshua. THIS CANNOT BE the ONE EXECPTION THAT MAKES A NEW RULE, especially since I have demonstrated WHAT FIRSTBORN ALWAYS means when SPECIFICALLY referring to Yehsua AND also considering that there are NO OTHER WITNESSES TO IT.

THEREFORE, I would clarify

to mean: “He is image of the invisible God, the firstborn [of the dead] over all creation (or all creatures)”. This truth is also emphasized by the fact that ONLY AFTER the resurrection was everything (all creation/creatures) “placed under his feet” and was he considered to be “over all creation/creatures”.

SUMMARY: The question was: Why should we understand “FIRSTBORN” at

as the term relates SPECIFICALLY to Yesua differently than anywhere else in the entire Bible? In ALL other scriptures that use “firstborn” SPECIFICALLY RELATING to Yehsua, it means “firstborn of the dead”.

says, “…firstborn over all creation” (or over all creatures according to the Aramaic), but it is then CLARIFIED in the SAME CONTEXT at

(there is no indication of a change in CONTEXT) – Therefore, Paul is talking here about Yeshua as the “firstborn of the dead”.

Some may argue that it says, “…OF all creation (creatures)” not “over”. We can find evidence that it could be translated either way. HOWEVER, since we now know that “firstborn” here means “firstborn of the dead”, the only word that makes any sense is “over”. One would not say, “He is image of the invisible God, the firstborn [of the dead] OF all creation (or all creatures)” – UNLESS it is referring to the renewed creation of the “world to come”. If so, I could accept OF in place of OVER. But it doesn’t NEED to refer to “the world to come” to make sense… as I have demonstrated. (So, Kel’s interpretation is not needed for the truth to be seen here.)

We have seen that Yeshua BECAME the FIRSTBORN [of the dead] at his resurrection (

]. This scripture, as well as

connection to

and

are KEY to understanding what “firstborn” ALWAYS MEANS when referring to Yeshua. As demonstrated, it was only AT THAT POINT that Yeshua fully expressed the “image of the invisible God”. Even though the “fullness of God dwelt in him” while he was alive on earth, he could not become the “image of the invisible God” until he acquired his “heavenly” or “spirit” body. This happened AFTER his resurrection. Only then could he FULLY “image” God… WHO IS SPIRIT and “not a human” or “flesh”. One day we too will be “like him” and fulfill our destiny as “imagers” of Elohim.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the FIRSTBORN [OF THE DEAD] of all creation (or creatures). 16 For in Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through (on account of; because of) him and for him. 17 He is before (above of, ahead of, in front of) all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may have pre-eminence in everything.

This passage shows that Yeshua was the “purpose” of God’s creation (Gr. “en” - “in him” all things were created”); whether one is speaking of the heavens, the earth, the visible or invisible, or thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities”. Everything was created BECAUSE OF HIM and FOR HIM. He is the “head of the body” of Messiah and is “the firstborn of the dead”, SO THAT he may have pre-eminence in everything.

[NOTE:

is about Miriam’s “firstborn” son, Yeshua.

(

) is about the people mourning for one who is like THEIR firstborn son. While this refers to Yeshua’s death, the context is him being a firstborn son of Israel whom “they” have pierced.]

Many people believe (referring ) that, The first reference (v. 15) is about Yeshua and his "NATURAL PRE-EMINENCE" as God’s firstborn son.” I must first point out that the term “firstborn son” is NEVER used in the NT in relation to Yeshua. Check it out for yourself. While Yeshua is "son of God", he is NEVER called "firstborn son of God". This is one of the reasons people are confused about this passage. They ASSUME “firstborn” means “firstborn son”. As I will demonstrate, IT DOES NOT.

I will demonstrate that “firstborn” ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead” when SPECIFICALLY REFERRING to Yeshua. Most also believe Paul switches context in v. 18 and that's where he begins talking about Yeshua being “firstborn of the dead” and that is the ONLY verse in the passage that is about him being “the firstborn from the dead.” I DISAGREE and I hope to conclusively demonstrate this.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may have pre-eminence in everything.

I think the first question we need to answer is: When did Yeshua become “the image of the invisible God”? I believe this happened at the resurrection when he received his “spiritual” or “heavenly” body. When Elohim resurrected the human Yeshua, he was TRANSFORMED from “flesh” to “spirit”. God is “Spirit”. Human flesh is not FULLY the “image” of the “invisible God”. Yeshua said, “That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is spirit” (). There is no evidence that he was “the image of the invisible God” before this time. “Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (). Yeshua went from flesh to incorruptible spirit; the NT does not say anywhere that he went from being a spirit to flesh to being an incorruptible spirit (resurrected human being).

In order to ensure we understand what this term means, we MUST look at ALL the OTHER REFERENCES to Yeshua as being the “firstborn” I hope you will agree that we must know how this term is used AS IT APPLIES SPECIFICALLY TO HIM to understand what it means when we see it in the Scriptures. Following are every reference to it.

1. - “And I WILL MAKE HIM THE FIRSTBORN, the highest of the kings of the earth”. Yeshua must be MADE the FIRSTBORN at some time in the future AFTER this scripture / prophesy is written. This scripture is quoted at with the additional information that the term “firstborn,” WHENEVER seen by itself and is alluding SPECIFICALLY to Yeshua, ALWAYS MEANS the “firstborn of the dead”, even if a scripture doesn’t use the whole phrase. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT to keep in mind and will be fully demonstrated herein.

“…and from Yeshua the Messiah the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth” ( quoting ).

Yeshua will become the ruler (highest) “of kings of the EARTH” when he comes to establish his earthly kingdom, NOT before. Remember, when he was on earth he specifically said his kingdom was “NOT of this world”. But it WILL BE when he returns to earth. Therefore, when this prophecy in calls him “firstborn”, it MUST be alluding to him being the “firstborn of the dead” because this prophecy can ONLY be fulfilled AFTER his resurrection. It being quoted and clarified at conclusively demonstrates this to be true.

2. - “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BRETHREN.” We are predestined to “be conformed” to the “image” of Yeshua (who HAS BECOME the image of the invisible God). The only image of Yeshua to which we CAN conform, and are PREDESTINED to conform to, is his resurrected body. He is the “firstborn” of many (future resurrected) brothers.

So, this scripture also CANNOT be about Yeshua’s “pre-eminence” when the universe was created, especially since he had not even been born yet and had no brothers. It refers to his pre-eminence over his HUMAN “brothers” as the “firstborn of the dead” and is also related to verse 18. Here we have additional evidence that when we see the term “firstborn” by itself and it is SPECIFICLLY alluding to Yeshua, it ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead.”

3. – “And again, when he brings the FIRSTBORN into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (quoting “…worship him all you gods [elohim]. The CONTEXT of to 2:5 is ALL about “the world to come” (the ‘renewed creation’). “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, OF WHICH WE ARE SPEAKING” ().

is talking about when the RESURRECTED KING Yeshua (the firstborn of the dead) comes into his earthly Kingdom, he will be worshipped by angels (lesser gods).

Look at . “For to which of the angels (elohim) did God ever say: ‘You are my Son; TODAY I have become Your Father.’ Or again: ‘I WILL BE His Father, and He WILL BE My Son’”? What does Luke tell us? “God has FULFILLED THIS to us their children BY RAISING UP YESHUA, as it is written in the second Psalm: You are My Son; TODAY I have BEGOTTEN YOU” (). Luke IS SPEAKING OF THE FULFILLED PROPHESY OF THE RESURRECTED ultimate Son of David - YESHUA. Luke says God BECAME his Father TODAY… ALLUDING to THE DAY GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD which is THE DAY Yeshua BECAME THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD. I’m putting in the following passage so you can see I am totally IN CONTEXT WITH THIS ANALYSIS:

4. - 30But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. 32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, 33 THIS HE HAS FULFILLED to us their children BY RAISING YESHUA, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’”

Where is there any reference to his “natural pre-eminence” as the preexisting “son” or “spirit of the son” or whatever? There is no record ANYWHERE in the Tanakh of angels or lesser elohim worshipping a preexistent spirit of the Messiah. This passage was always referring the heavenly worship Yeshua WILL receive in “the world to come” WHICH IS THE CONTEXT of (confirmed @ ). Perhaps he is receiving it even now since his has been resurrected and we are told “all things (except his enemies) HAVE BEEN PUT under his feet.” Who knows?

5. – “22 But YOU HAVE COME to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriad angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRSTBORN, having been enrolled in the heavens, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous having been made perfect, to Yeshua the mediator…” Look at the language here: “Mount Zion”, “city of the living God”, “enrolled in the heavens” and especially the time frame as being when “the spirits of the righteous having BEEN MADE PERFECT.” This is clearly referring to believers MEMBERSHIP in the ASSEMBLY OF THE FIRSTBORN of the DEAD, not a preeminent Yeshua. This is further evidence that WHENEVER we see “FIRSTBORN” SPECIFICALLY REFERRING to Yeshua, it ALWAYS means “firstborn of the dead”.

6. – “…5 and from Yeshua the Messiah the faithful witness, THE FIRSTBORN OF THE DEAD and the ruler of kings on earth”. As I pointed out in #1, THIS is the final proof that the use of the term “FIRSTBORN” when SPECIFICALLY ALLUDING to Yeshua, ALWAYS MEANS “firstborn of the dead” EVEN IF it doesn’t actually say it. This brings us full circle back WHICH IS THE ONLY OTHER PLACE in the entire BIBLE that uses “firstborn” SPECIFICALLY ALLUDING to Yeshua. Therefore, for proper biblical exegesis, THIS VERSE CANNOT APPLY AN ENTIRELY NEW RULE regarding what “firstborn” means when SPECIFICALLY ALLUIDING to Yeshua. THIS CANNOT BE the ONE EXECPTION THAT MAKES A NEW RULE, especially since I have demonstrated WHAT FIRSTBORN ALWAYS means when SPECIFICALLY referring to Yehsua AND also considering that there are NO OTHER WITNESSES TO IT.

THEREFORE, I would clarify to mean: “He is image of the invisible God, the firstborn [of the dead] over all creation (or all creatures)”. This truth is also emphasized by the fact that ONLY AFTER the resurrection was everything (all creation/creatures) “placed under his feet” and was he considered to be “over all creation/creatures”.

SUMMARY: The question was: Why should we understand “FIRSTBORN” at as the term relates SPECIFICALLY to Yesua differently than anywhere else in the entire Bible? In ALL other scriptures that use “firstborn” SPECIFICALLY RELATING to Yehsua, it means “firstborn of the dead”. says, “…firstborn over all creation” (or over all creatures according to the Aramaic), but it is then CLARIFIED in the SAME CONTEXT at (there is no indication of a change in CONTEXT) – Therefore, Paul is talking here about Yeshua as the “firstborn of the dead”.

Some may argue that it says, “…OF all creation (creatures)” not “over”. We can find evidence that it could be translated either way. HOWEVER, since we now know that “firstborn” here means “firstborn of the dead”, the only word that makes any sense is “over”. One would not say, “He is image of the invisible God, the firstborn [of the dead] OF all creation (or all creatures)” – UNLESS it is referring to the renewed creation of the “world to come”. If so, I could accept OF in place of OVER. But it doesn’t NEED to refer to “the world to come” to make sense… as I have demonstrated. (So, Kel’s interpretation is not needed for the truth to be seen here.)

We have seen that Yeshua BECAME the FIRSTBORN [of the dead] at his resurrection (]. This scripture, as well as connection to and are KEY to understanding what “firstborn” ALWAYS MEANS when referring to Yeshua. As demonstrated, it was only AT THAT POINT that Yeshua fully expressed the “image of the invisible God”. Even though the “fullness of God dwelt in him” while he was alive on earth, he could not become the “image of the invisible God” until he acquired his “heavenly” or “spirit” body. This happened AFTER his resurrection. Only then could he FULLY “image” God… WHO IS SPIRIT and “not a human” or “flesh”. One day we too will be “like him” and fulfill our destiny as “imagers” of Elohim.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the FIRSTBORN [OF THE DEAD] of all creation (or creatures). 16 For in Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through (on account of; because of) him and for him. 17 He is before (above of, ahead of, in front of) all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself may have pre-eminence in everything.

This passage shows that Yeshua was the “purpose” of God’s creation (Gr. “en” - “in him” all things were created”); whether one is speaking of the heavens, the earth, the visible or invisible, or thrones, dominions, rulers or authorities”. Everything was created BECAUSE OF HIM and FOR HIM. He is the “head of the body” of Messiah and is “the firstborn of the dead”, SO THAT he may have pre-eminence in everything.

[NOTE: is about Miriam’s “firstborn” son, Yeshua. () is about the people mourning for one who is like THEIR firstborn son. While this refers to Yeshua’s death, the context is him being a firstborn son of Israel whom “they” have pierced.]