The Counsel of Peace between Them both

“The counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” (Zech. 6:13).

We want to look at the way scripture and Ellen White conspicuously refer to two Persons in the Godhead, thus necessarily excluding a third person.

“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.1.

“Jesus…was the Word of God,—God’s thought made audible.” The Desire of Ages, p. 19.2.

   

“The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father’s throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both. About the throne gathered the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng—‘ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands’ (Revelation 5:11), the most exalted angels, as ministers and subjects, rejoicing in the light that fell upon them from the presence of the Deity. Before the assembled inhabitants of heaven the King declared that none but Christ, the Only Begotten of God, could fully enter into His purposes, and to Him it was committed to execute the mighty counsels of His will.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 36.2.

“Before the Father He [Christ] pleaded in the sinner’s behalf, while the host of heaven awaited the result with an intensity of interest that words cannot express. Long continued was that mysterious communing—‘the counsel of peace’ (Zechariah 6:13) for the fallen sons of men. The plan of salvation had been laid before the creation of the earth; for Christ is ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Revelation 13:8); yet it was a struggle, even with the King of the universe, to yield up His Son to die for the guilty race. But ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16. Oh, the mystery of redemption! the love of God for a world that did not love Him! Who can know the depths of that love which ‘passeth knowledge’? Through endless ages immortal minds, seeking to comprehend the mystery of that incomprehensible love, will wonder and adore.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p.  63.3.

   

“The work of Christ as man’s intercessor is presented in that beautiful prophecy of Zechariah concerning Him ‘whose name is the Branch.’ Says the prophet: ‘He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His [the Father’s] throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.’ Zechariah 6:12, 13.” Great Controversy, p. 415.3.

“Upon the throne with the eternal, self-existent One is He who ‘hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows’.” Great Controversy, p.  416.3.

In all the above descriptions of heaven before the great controversy and God’s plan to reverse man’s fall, we see but two Beings on the throne. “Him ‘whose name is the Branch.’… shall be a priest upon His [the Father’s] throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” Great Controversy, p. 416.4.

Do we understand that there are more than two divine Persons involved in the great controversy and in God’s plan to reverse man’s destruction? What do we hear in this regard from the following scripture texts?

“Abraham... Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest...and offer him...for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Gen. 22:1,2).

“The LORD our God is one LORD.” (Deut. 6:4). “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30). “My Father is greater than I.” (John 14:28).

“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire…. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.” (Dan. 7:9,13).

“Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.…and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” (Rev. 4:2,3,5).

“And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?

And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.

And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Rev. 5:1-6).

“The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.... The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Ps. 110:1,4). 

“Then cometh the end, when He [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

For He [Christ] must reign, till He [God] hath put all enemies under His feet.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

For He [God] hath put all things under His [Christ’s] feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him [Christ], it is manifest that He [God] is excepted, which did put all things under Him.

And when all things shall be subdued unto Him [God], then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Cor. 15:24-28).

“… until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: which in His times He shall shew, who [God the Father] is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” (1Tim. 6:14-16).

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. …Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever.” (Rev. 5:12-14).

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.” (Rev. 3:21).

“And the Angel … lifted up His hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein.” (Rev. 10:5,6).

“The Man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when He held up His right hand and His left hand unto heaven, and sware by Him that liveth for ever…” (Dan. 12:7).

“And another Angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto Him much incense, that He should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne [of God].” (Rev. 8:3).

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.” (Heb. 4:14).

“Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25).

“For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” (1Tim. 2:5).

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him….” (Rev. 1:1).

“To us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1Cor. 8:6).

“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. ” (John 1:18).

From the above quotations and verses, we see that there are two who rule from the throne of heaven: the Son and His greater Father. They are “the Sovereign of the universe” and “an associate—a co-worker”; one is “Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God” and the other is “the eternal Father”.

There are always two who rule: They are “the Son of God” who shared His Father’s throne and “the eternal, self-existent One” whose glory “encircled both”; one is the “mighty Angel” who roared like a lion, standing below “Him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein” and other is the Almighty who thundered down upon His mighty Angel who had taken the open book from His right hand after His horrific self-sacrifice qualified Him to take and open the book of doom against the One who sat on the throne and lives forever.

There are two Beings at the throne: They are “the Ancient of days” and “one like unto the Son of man” who was brought near to Him; They are “God” and “the Word of God,—God’s thought made audible”; They are “God” and the “Angel [that] came and stood at the … golden altar which was before the throne [of God]”; and They are “One [who] sat on the throne” and the “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God [that were seen later when the seven Spirits were incarnated into human form and He dispensed it to the world, see Revelation 5:6]”.

There are two persons working for atonement between God and fallen man: They are “one God” and “one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”; They are “a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God”, “[who] liveth to make intercession for them”; They are “the Lamb that was slain” and “Him that liveth for ever and ever”; They are “our Lord Jesus Christ” and “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” “who only hath immortality”.

Two, and only two divine Beings, cooperated together in Their one Spirit to win us back from Satan and sin. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.’” (2Cor. 5:19). “Him ‘whose name is the Branch.’ …shall sit and rule upon His [the Father’s] throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both [emphasis mine].” Great Controversy, p. 416.4.

Before we ever praise God for the unspeakable gift of His grace through His Son, we must nail down the biblical truth of two person Godhead of God the Father and, specifically, an in-fact, true, sole Son begotten of His Father in eternity past. Unlike the biblical gospel, the Trinity philosophy from Babel cannot capture the power of a grace that awakens dead human hearts, daily slaughtered on the cruel altars of the adversary. Protestants take the second person of Babel’s Trinity and move it to the third person spot in Babel’s Trinity. It is simply an improvement on idolatry. The most ancient traditions of men can’t attach to everlasting truth. “No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.” (Luke 5:36). The Trinity god’s requirements and the one true God’s requirements can no more be intertwined in a doctrine than Jehovah’s ark of the covenant could live next to Satan’s image of Dagon.

Human tradition and divine truth are incompatible, because human tradition come from Baal’s purposely defiling the truth concerning Jehovah Elohim. That would make a modern tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And we see it in Christendom’s papal little horn of Daniel’s prophecies that would reign over the kings and the nations of the earth.

“And it [the deceptive little horn power] waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host….” (Dan. 8:10,11). That Trinity and its Holy Spirit third person are the primeval, wretched and desolating, abomination “whom all Asia and the world worshippeth” (Acts 19:27), and its “magnificence should be destroyed” (Acts 19:27). There can be no redemption through that most detestable, co-equal, co-eval, and co-eternal mythical triad oligarchy of gods ruling the nations’ pantheons, “which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” (Rev. 17:18). “Thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.” (Rev. 18:23,24).

“It cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them”. (Dan. 8:10). Daniel 8’s little horn did just like Daniel 7’s little horn, which rode a beast that was “dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great [great, lording, domineering] things.” (Dan. 7:7,8). This persecuting and blasphemous little horn power is seen again in John’s Revelation, showing that it was future to John, and continuing to Christ’s second advent.

“And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy^G988 [G988 “impious against God”, “vilifying God” and “calumniating His children”].

And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.” (Rev. 13:1,6,7).

“So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” (Rev. 17:3-6).

This war against the church is more than an all-out, militarized law-enforcement system, but also a deceptive doctrinal war. The whole spectra of war includes anti-truth, spiritual, psychological strategies. Here is where the Trinity doctrine comes into play, especially during the end-time investigative judgment. The first angel’s message is the warning to glorify God, God who is “Him that sat on the throne” (Rev. 5:1), to worship Him who creates (see Revelation 10:5,6, does God have a competitor?), and that the hour of His judgment has come (see Revelation 5:1-7; 10:1,2,7). But, the Trinity doctrine confuses the two individual Persons into non-biblical ministry, blurring them into three, and destroying Their three angels’ messages. everything related to God the Father and His only begotten Son Godhead is undermined by the ancient Trinity god. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” (2Thess. 2:9).

Jesus, the Spirit of truth and our “Wonderful, Counsellor” (Isa. 9:6), our unchanged Comforter, said, “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another [of the same (see John 14:9)] Comforter, that He [the Father] may abide with you for ever;… I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you…. He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him…. If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love Him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:16,18,21,23). The Father is of the same character as His Son. Through His Son He can be of help to everyone on Earth. “Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:19,20). They would see Jesus via His Spirit and their faith.

“Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Rev. 5:5,6).

The non-trinitarian, true, biblical Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Spirit sent in His Father’s power, the Spirit of truth. It’s Jesus who is the truth, and who Revelation 5:6 shows crowned with the omnipotent and omniscient Spirit of truth. The Spirit is verily none other than Jesus speaking to the spirit and soul of His sheep. The Spirit of truth is the testimony of Jesus the Word, “the faithful and true Witness” (Rev. 3:14). Jesus was “I wisdom” (Prov. 8:10, cf Prov. 22-30), and still “who of God is made unto us wisdom” (1Cor. 1:30). Jesus is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, because He is the truth, the Word, Wisdom, and “righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1Cor. 1:30). Jesus, His Spirit, is made unto us wisdom. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him to green pastures and to quiet waters. “Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit.” (1Jn. 4:13). “Ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.”

Two and only two beings rule in the heavens, “and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.”  So where is the third being, Holy Spirit?

In the salutations beginning every epistle of Paul to the churches, without exception the apostle writes of only the same two Beings, “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 1:7).

God has a Mediator for us, “even Jesus, made an High Priest for ever” (Heb. 6:20), “and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.” God’s beloved Son is our Mediator. No one else like one of us can go to bat for us—and the Father chose someone who we, who love our children, can believe that God will hear His Child, and us too. The sinless, infinitely bonded God the Father and His only begotten Son want to save every sinner. “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1Jn. 2:2).

“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Rom. 3:24,25).

“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1Jn. 4:10).

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” (1Jn. 4:14).

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1Jn. 2:1).

“‘And the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.’ The love of the Father, no less than of the Son, is the fountain of salvation for the lost race…. in the ministration in the sanctuary above, ‘the counsel of peace shall be between Them BOTH [emphasis mine].’” Great Controversy, p. 416.4.

The plan of salvation is centered around two, mutually loved, personal Beings, “God” and “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). The most holy Two aren’t three co-equal, co-eval, and co-eternal, same age male gods, in each other’s bosom. That is queer, and it is depraving to everyone who holds that idea. And Satan loves to insinuate his impurity into God’s character and into His Son’s, through religious doctrines and dogmatic assumptions in His Book, the Bible. We have full comprehension on how many fronts the Trinity makes war against the whole knowledge of God’s character.

There is no self-sacrificing love between three equal male peers, even if tradition says that they decided, in the past eons, to portray love by role-playing it. That isn’t convincing, not to intelligent creatures made in God’s image. Only the truth of the King of creation, giving up the Son of His bosom—permitting Him to conclude the plan to go into enemy territory, risking failure under the tremendous wrath of God and the tremendous temptations of Satan, and risking eternal imprisonment and everlasting grief in an earthly tomb—in order to win some of us back to a perfect preparation for the sinless kingdom of heaven. If this blog post has convinced you of the truly loving Father and Son Godhead, then we can finish with Their beautiful work for our redemption.

“‘And the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.’ The love of the Father, no less than of the Son, is the fountain of salvation for the lost race…. in the ministration in the sanctuary above, ‘the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.’” Great Controversy, p. 416.4.

“‘He shall build the temple of the Lord.’ By His sacrifice and mediation Christ is both the foundation and the builder of the church of God. The apostle Paul points to Him as ‘the chief Cornerstone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also,’ he says, ‘are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.’ Ephesians 2:20-22.

     ‘He shall bear the glory.’ To Christ belongs the glory of redemption for the fallen race. Through the eternal ages, the song of the ransomed ones will be: ‘Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,... to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.’ Revelation 1:5, 6.

     He ‘shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne.’ Not now ‘upon the throne of His glory;’ the kingdom of glory has not yet been ushered in. Not until His work as a mediator shall be ended will God ‘give unto Him the throne of His father David,’ a kingdom of which ‘there shall be no end.’ Luke 1:32, 33. As a priest, Christ is now set down with the Father in His throne. Revelation 3:21. Upon the throne with the eternal, self-existent One is He who ‘hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows,’ who ‘was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,’ that He might be ‘able to succor them that are tempted.’ ‘If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.’ Isaiah 53:4; Hebrews 4:15;  2:18; 1 John 2:1. His intercession is that of a pierced and broken body, of a spotless life. The wounded hands, the pierced side, the marred feet, plead for fallen man, whose redemption was purchased at such infinite cost.” Great Controversy, p. 416.1-3.

“Said Jesus to His disciples before He went away: ‘I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you.’ John 16:26, 27. God was ‘in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.’ 2 Corinthians 5:19. And in the ministration in the sanctuary above, ‘the counsel of peace shall be between Them both.’ ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ John 3:16.” Great Controversy, p. 416.4.