Endorsements
Endorsements
“This is an excellent work on the Tri-unity of God which will help every Christian understand the theological perspective of the Jewish people and become more effective in witnessing. This book uncovers the large body of evidence that God has given to us in the Hebrew Scriptures regarding the nature of His Person. An exceptionally well-informed and useful study!”
“It is impossible to do Jewish ministries using only the New Testament. One must have an excellent knowledge of the Old Testament in the Tri-unity of God, Messianic prophecies of the First Coming of the Messiah and be able to answer Jewish objections on issues such as the virgin birth, and the God/Man concept among other issues while using only the Old Testament. After all, when the Apostles proclaimed the Messiahship of Jesus from “the Scriptures,” it meant from the Old Testament since the New Testament had not yet been written. This work by John Metzger is an excellent presentation on the Tri-unity of God, including many of the First Coming prophecies which will give the reader not only expertise in Messianic prophecy, but also on how they correlate with the other areas of biblical doctrine in the New Testament as well. This work is highly recommended.”
“John Metzger makes his case and proves his point in a thoroughly convincing and scriptural manner. The treatment of the indivisibility and the plurality of God and the Hebrew names of God in this study are all convincing. We agree with the author that God has given ample evidences of His unity as well as His plurality. God is one God, and yet there is a Tri-unity. The distinctions he makes between biblical and rabbinical Judaism are most helpful. The importance of this critical study cannot be separated from the eternal destiny of Jewish souls. John Metzger enlarges on this thought by saying, “One cannot separate the salvation that was provided in Messiah from his or her belief in the oneness, unity of God and the plurality of God.” It isn’t difficult to commend John Metzger for a thorough treatise and an excellent textbook.”
“In reading John Metzger’s book, I was delighted and fascinated with what I found in it. He has produced a very careful, exegetical study of not only the names of God and the plural descriptions of God, but also he has given a strong case for the tri-unity of God in the Old Testament. Pastors and laypersons will find enormous help in discussions such as the angel of the Lord, the meaning of the great Shema given in Deuteronomy 6:4, and a great discussion of the precise meaning of the phrase ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one.’ This is a much needed tool to correct and inform the dialogue between Christians and Jewish people as well as for Christians to understand better their own doctrine of the Trinity. This work should bring great blessing to the body of Christ everywhere.”
“One does not have to be Jewish to enjoy the mystery of the unity and plurality of God in the text of the Hebrew Scriptures. This text is crowded with hints, clues,and outright statements that have attracted the attention of Jewish rabbis for years. Out of years of study, John Metzger shows the unity of God which has puzzled and perplexed Jewish scholars for centuries. It reveals how God can be monotheistic with repeated plural references to His very nature, one in unity, yet three. The triune nature of God is not presented in some mystical sense, but the following reveals the number of ways that God showed Himself to be three yet one: the usage of the plural and singular names for God, visual appearances of God, the use of echad (one) in the Shema, and the multitude of plural references in which God displayed Himself. He was later revealed openly as the three persons of the Godhead in the New Testament. The famed “plural of majesty” is clearly shown to be a smokescreen to mask the unwanted obvious truth that God exists and reveals Himself in three eternal and glorious persons. The proof of this foundational mystery of the triune God was unfolded within the pages of the Tanakh centuries before the Christian Scriptures completed it. Metzger’s foundational Trinitarian arguments are based on careful exegesis of the text rather than imported from the later Christian Scriptures and contributes significantly to our understanding of the theology of the Hebrew Scriptures.”
THE TRI-UNITY OF GOD IS JEWISH, “This is not an easy book either to read or to review. This is not due to its content, for it is a splendid treatise of the subject. But it doesn’t make for easy reading and requires careful attention. I am glad to have reviewed it because I learned a great deal more about what the Old Testament has to say about Scripture’s marvelous doctrine of The Trinity. Metzger did his homework well: he quotes extensively from the Tanakh and then attaches an outstanding bibliography of some 451 books. I have found my own copy of the Tanakh all the more useful than ever before. Metzger, a missionary to the Jews with a fine mission agency, is quite aware of the need to emphasize that ‘scholars must not read New Covenant truth back into the Hebrew Scriptures.’ This is something most of us don’t often consider. He even provides an evangelistic approach he calls “The Jerusalem Road” in which he uses, very effectively, O.T. passages exclusively. Metzger underscores the fallacy of the current approach that “the meaning lies—not in the text—but in the interpretation of the text.” (p.849). He obviously recognizes that the postmodern battleground has shifted to the area of hermeneutics. I was very much impressed with, and benefited from, his material on echad in the shema. This is an exceedingly helpful book and I recommend it highly for immediate study and for continuing availability as a valuable resource in any minister’s library.”
“The Trinity is a common place of Christian Theology. Most theologians, however, neglect to understand this cardinal doctrine in its Old Testament and Jewish context. Most Jewish people consider the Trinity an invention of early Christians who were influenced by Greek thought. They are usually surprised to learn that the “tri-unity” of God is embedded within their own Hebrew Scriptures. In his in-depth study, John Metzger has plumbed the depths of the First Testament to display the evidence there that points to a plurality within the unity of the Godhead. The reader may be amazed to discover how much evidence there actually is that points to this great truth. In this significant work Metzger has rendered a great service to the cause of God and truth.”
“Finally, a useful book on the Triune nature of God! For years both in sharing the Good News of Messiah and in planting messianic congregations, we’ve lacked a suitable book for teaching on thesis profound and essential doctrine of the faith. In both communicat-ing to the non-believing Jewish community or in messianic discipleship there has been an evident and great need that is met by John Metzger’s book, Discovering the Mystery of the Unity of God.”
“John Metzger’s Discovering the Mystery of the Unity of God provides not only comprehensive, biblical based theology of Trinitarianism but a magnificent apologetic for this cardinal doctrine of the Christian Faith. Moreover, the irenic tone in which it is articulated is designed to build bridges of understanding on the part of adherents to the strict monotheism of Judaism and Islam by demonstrating that the God of their traditions is at the same time one God existing in three persons. Metzger’s scholarly presentation f the biblical data is flavored by an evangelistic urgency that those who are so close and yet so far from faith might become sons and daughters of Abraham and of the Triune God.”
Book Review “The Messianic Movement now has a well-written, easy to follow, scholarly work that shows how the plurality and the tri-unity of God can be proven from the Hebrew Scriptures. John Metzger’s The Tri-unity of God is Jewish is unique in that it is a very easily read book, despite its scholarly style with references on almost every page, and numerous quotes from other scholars and viewpoints. Flowing through the eight major chapters, the author builds his case by weight of evidence beginning with the names of God, references to two YHVHs in the Tanakh, and the theophanies, or appearances of God in human form. Chapters 9 and 10 deal with the Shema, Echad and Yachid, followed by the plural and tri-unity descriptions of God throughout the Tanakh. The last sections deal fairly exhaustively but interestingly with the Holy Spirit throughout the Word, the divinity of the Messiah, and then a final summary. There are 80 pages of appendices, bibliography and indexes. Over the past 10 years, the Messianic movement has seen a surge in the number of scholars who have taken less than traditional views on the deity and nature of God and Messiah. These views generally lead to a lessoning in the importance of sharing one’s faith. This book will be a strong tool in the hands of those who would like to counterbalance this turn against spiritual orthodoxy. The Tri-unity of God is Jewish is also quite useful in helping one understand the theological position of those who follow rabbinical Judaism, and it will help us to better show them the way of salvation from the Tanakh, even without the New Covenant, if necessary. So, even the eternal destiny of Jewish (and others) souls can be influenced by what is gleaned from this work. The author speaks to this thought by saying ‘One cannot separate the salvation that was provided in Messiah from his or her belief in the oneness, unity of God, and the plurality of God.’ I highly recommend the book for leaders, laymen, students, everyone. It will strengthen your faith, give you more balance and, if necessary, reawaken that sense deep inside that there are some comfortable absolutes that we can rest and abide in.”
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