Where Was Jesus While He Was on Earth?

By Comlanvi Sena Paul Avoungnassou

Through this book, the Christian God is revealed in his true colors. The greatest answer you will find in this book is whether Yahweh, Jesus Christ, the Angel of the Lord, the Father, and the Holy Spirit describe one and the same person. What if the Trinity Doctrine is in fact an accurate description of the nature of the Christian God? Could Jesus be a created angel? And how did God create the universe?

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 28, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449743499

Comlanvi Sena Paul Avoungnassou

Comlanvi Avoungnassou was born in Togo in West Africa. He is a Christian, a believer in the Lord Jesus. He was fourteen years old when he had had his first experience with the Lord and received the call into ministry. At twenty-four years old, he attended the Word of Faith Bible Institute in Kaduna, Nigeria, graduating with a full-time diploma. He became full-time pastor for the next five years as youth pastor, assistant pastor, and senior pastor of a small congregation in Lome until his coming to the United States in 2006. This book came as a result of an encounter he had had with the Lord Jesus in April 2010, when the Lord urged him to read about the son of man. This book reveals the true nature of the Lord Jesus and gives an unmatched understanding of what the Bible refers to as the mystery of God. Mr. Comlanvi is happily married to Glemma Avoungnassou, with two great boys, Joshua and Noah.

Book preview

Where Was Jesus While

He Was on Earth?

Mark 13:37: And what I [Jesus] say unto you I say unto all, Watch (emphasis mine).

John 15:15: Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Mark 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables (emphasis in original).

1 Corinthians 2:7–10: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (emphasis mine).

Colossians 2:1–2: For I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh; That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ (emphasis mine).

We have long come into the age of revelation and understanding, into the time where our God is more than willing to expose the depths of his wisdom to those who truly seek him, into the age where scales will fall off the eyes of anyone who is willing to sit at our Lord Jesus’ feet, learn from him, and obey his commands to go as his disciples and preach the sound gospel of the kingdom of God. The scales will fall off the eyes of anyone, without respect to age, background, race, or education, who will look up to heaven and say, Lord, what do you want me to do? There is so much more to know about this glorious kingdom of our Lord and Savior; there are so much more to understand about the true nature of our Lord Jesus and about his person, his deity, and his glory. The most exciting part of all is that anything we want to know about the biblical God and about his nature and origin as the Creator is plainly revealed in his Word. There is no mystery in the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, but those whose eyes are blindfolded by the prince of this world cannot see the shining light of the gospel. There is a lot to know about our glorious God, who became flesh and blood (John 1:14), such as the mystery of the one in the likeness of the Son of Man in heaven, who was full of glory, and the mystery of the only begotten of the Father (John 1:14).

I often wonder, with great respect and humility, whether these holy men who penned out this Book really fully understood what they were doing. It is a true saying that the Bible holds the key to life (past-present-future).The disciples of the Lord understood, I believe, but to only a certain degree, the riches and mystery of this kingdom as revealed to them by the Lord himself. They understood the contours of the nature of this kingdom to be infinitely great, infinitely wide, and infinitely deep. They had a complete mastery of the parcel of the building they contributed to raise but did not see the whole picture as we are now privileged to see and understand. They excelled within the borders of the grace that was granted them in their time, and they were very instrumental in building upon the foundation of this faith which is no other than the Lord himself. The wisdom of the Lord himself rested upon them as it did with Bezaleel (Exodus 35:30) in the time of Moses, as they were moved by the Spirit of revelation, to add lines upon lines, precepts upon precepts on the foundational pillar of our faith. They began building on this foundation which is the Lord himself and left us with a legacy and a responsibility to take on where they had stopped.

They were the first to build upon the foundation of our faith, on the ground already plowed by the Law and the Prophets, and we are called to carry on the works of the building from the very same spot they had left it on. The disciples and their teachings were in no way the foundation of our faith and must never be considered as such; they should rather be seen as the very first bricks that were laid upon the foundation of the church which is our Lord Jesus. The work must not stop, because the building is not complete yet. We are, as one would say, the next chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The Spirit that moved the original disciples is still present and alive today, just as he was in their time. He is the revealer of the mystery of God. Our God did not just inspire the Bible and retreat; he is still in the active business of writing the Bible through devoted and consecrated men and women across the globe. This faith and its splendor did not end with the apostles; not at all, it began with them in its prime expression as they held their offices as front-runners only. Our God has never stopped. He is and continues to be the sole revealer of the hidden truth of the glorious gospel of this kingdom. He is as active as ever. He is not just watching us fight for him, but he is right there before the eyes of the devoted ones, paving the way to victory and honor through the paths of righteousness and humility.

The Bible says the following:

1 Timothy 3:16: Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory (emphasis mine).

Colossians 2:9: For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

God bodily visited his people. God bodily died. God bodily ascended to heaven, and God bodily is coming back to judge the world and recompense his followers who believed in both the foolishness and the simplicity of the gospel of Christ. We have received the revelation on the mystery of godliness, and we need to add to that the unfolded mystery of God, which is Christ Jesus himself, so we can understand the true nature not only of our Christian faith but of our God as well, the Son of Man who is in heaven. This understanding is so important because the true knowledge of him will certainly determine the impact of the gospel upon the entire world and bring about a new awareness about the Christian and universal God, and a greater move of the Holy Spirit than that which occurred even in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and far beyond what we have experienced thus far. We have not seen our God at his fullest yet, but the sound of the mighty rain is just at a hearing distance, calling us all to get set. Our God at Pentecost was delighted in pouring out his Spirit upon his imperfect vessels and trust them to move on with the most glorious message ever heard since the creation of the world. We are yet to see a greater outpouring of divine presence upon the entire planet once again before the return of the Son of Man on earth. It has always pleased the Father to use the vile things of this world to confound the wise, and he is going to do just that again. Here are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ himself to his unbelieving audience:

John 6:62: What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

Glory be to the Lord! Where Was Jesus While He Was on Earth? by the grace of God will reveal to you the hidden truth about God, about the Son of Man in heaven, and about the Holy Spirit and will treat on subjects such as the Trinity doctrine; the Jesus-only movement, also known as the oneness doctrine; and some of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ view of the Son of Man, and will bring to light some misconceptions most believers today and in the past have entertained with regard to the nature of the Creator of heavens and earth. Where Was Jesus While He Was on Earth? is for you, Christian, believer in, and follower of the Lord Jesus (Yeshua the Messiah), to understand the revelation of the Son of Man as the only begotten Son of God. It will provide you with a brief, but clear, analysis of the major Christians’ theological concepts with respect to doctrines and beliefs. Where Was Jesus While He Was on Earth? will take you through the very lines of the beginning of creation itself and uncover to you the hidden riches embedded in the wisdom, foreknowledge, and power of the Blessed Yahweh, the God Creator of all, who alone is blessed forever. My hope and prayer is that I am able to make this journey a very pleasant one to you. The Holy Spirit be upon you as you read through these lines. Amen!

My Understanding of

the Son of Man

It would be quite impossible, if not unimaginable, for one to grasp the biblical substance in its entirety and the Creator in his revelation without the proper understanding of the nature of the prophetic biblical character identified as the one in the likeness of the Son of Man. Those accustomed to reading from the Old Testament would understand, at least to a large extent, to whom the reference to the one in the likeness of the Son of Man is. The greatest and most outstanding illustration of the Son of Man, in my view, is the one found in the book of Daniel when the Jewish prophet saw and witnessed occurrences that highlighted the mission of the one in the likeness of the Son of Man in heaven. The true nature of the Son of Man is a mystery which was unfolded about two thousand years ago when he visited earth and lived among his people—just like one of us.

He was in heaven, and had a glory with the Father as the only begotten Son. This Son of Man in heaven, according to Scriptures, is revealed to be none other than our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, or Christ. The Son of Man in heaven left his throne to become like one of us for a period of about thirty-three years of men. He existed in the likeness of the Son of Man in heaven prior to his incarnation as the Son of Man in flesh and blood on earth. He existed as the only begotten of the Father, even in heaven, and this began at a time before the foundation of the worlds. Do you wonder how I know this? It is there, plainly written on almost every page of the Bible.

It is striking to me just how often the Lord Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man throughout his earthly ministry. Yes, our Lord Jesus did, in fact, refer to himself more often as the Son of Man than the Son of God. This is not to say that either description is of any higher importance than the other, but this could be understood as his strategy to reveal his identity not only to the generation he visited, but to the entire world.

The Bible testifies of him saying: For there is one God [Divinity or Deity], and one mediator between God [Deity] and men, the man Christ Jesus. (Who is the physical manifestation of invisible Deity.)

1 Timothy 2:5, paraphrased.

He became a man—flesh and blood—for the purpose of becoming the only mediator between the invisible God and mankind through the event of Calvary. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law in the time of Jesus understood what he meant when referring to himself in such terms. Having made it a life duty to read and study the Torah and the prophets, they were quick to make the connection between this Jesus calling himself the Son of Man and the prophetic person seen by the holy ancients. They could not hold, nor even hide their anger at Jesus. They were quick to paint him a blasphemer, an impostor. This was the truth that turned out to be too much for them to bear. They were furious because this would obviously make Jesus, or Yeshua, that poor man gazing at them right in the tribunal of the elders, their long awaited Messiah. They would not accept that because nothing then in the appearance or demeanor of the Lord Jesus wedded in any way with their expectations for their long awaited Savior.

They wanted their Messiah to come as a powerful warrior, but he came as a humble man. They wanted him covered with great honor and into a rich, influential, and decent family, but he was born of Mary, the wife of a carpenter, and did not attend any institutionalized school. He was born low-class. They were thoroughly and earnestly looking to find the Son of God, but they were left only with the pressing reality of the Son of Man. They wanted to find him where he obviously was not. They wanted him to support their values and deeds, but he denounced their hypocrisy instead. The Lord Jesus resisted their arrogance and pride to the end. The only thing our Lord did not resist was his final hours. The Son of Man surrendered and gave himself over to the judgment of the ungodly to seal his fate here on earth. One could only try to imagine the wrath of his prosecutors when the Lord Jesus, referring to the Old Testament passage in the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13), described his glorious return.

This statement was an open challenge to the religious leaders, who arrested him with the plot of killing him. Jesus explicitly told them, Whether you like it or not, I am whom I’ve said since the beginning that I am. I know you are going to kill me for telling this truth about my identity and my mission, but I will continue to stick to this truth when you ask so you will not have any excuse when I, the Son of Man, come back in my glory. You are here judging me today in the name of the God you so misunderstood, but I will be judging you tomorrow as the Lord God of all. (Read Matthew 26:63–64).

The religious leaders understood the implications of the Lord’s words. They knew that after the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds of heaven would come the judgment of the nations. They had long awaited the coming of the Messiah, but were unable to recognize him when he came. Not only did they not recognize him, but they had him crucified, thus fulfilling the law and the prophets that predicted the cutting off of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the ultimate Lamb of God that was to be slain for the sin of all mankind. It ought to be so, and so it became. They (religious leaders) were left only with the consequences of their actions because, moved more by envy and the love of pleasures than by love for God, they crucified the Son of Man, the King of Glory, who declared even under oath to be the son of the living God.

The high priest, in his own words, said this to him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou art the Christ, the Son of God? One could rightly paraphrase the words of the high priest to the Lord Jesus as follow, You know, now we really need to get serious. For the last time we are asking you, we beg you by the name of the God of Israel and you must answer us whether you are the Son of God! You need to tell us the truth!

Did you see that?

Our Lord was compelled to speak. He was forced by the power and subtlety of words to defend his ministry. He was dealing with lawyers and lawmakers, some of the brightest folks in Jerusalem at that time; these were people who had mastered the art of wording just as naturally as one would take a cup of coffee. Jesus clearly was left with very limited options, which were lying, making a deal, keeping quiet, or telling the truth and suffering the consequences. Jesus must have said to himself, Well, I did not really want to have to answer back and forth to you on these issues knowing that you have already made up your mind to kill me anyway, regardless of the turning of this gathering, but since you are making me answer by the name of the living God, I am going to reiterate the same talking points I have had in public for the past three years. You will notice that our Lord Jesus did not reply in his defense with regard to the first elements of the charges against him rather than go and ask those who heard me preach and teach in public, and they will tell you what I have taught for the past few months (John 18:18–21). But when he was compelled by the religious leaders to make his case in the presence of the living God (Matthew 26:63–64), he could not hold back because of the vital importance of the situation itself. He had no other choice but to answer truthfully because God was implicitly brought into the scene. In a religious tribunal the notion of the presence of God is a thing that is usually if not always taken for granted. The traditional motto of a religious tribunal is thus stated:We know God is here because we represent God and are approved by him. Both the defendant and the plaintiff in a religious tribunal understand that God resides within the tribunal. So it was not necessary that the High Priest requests of the defendant-here the Lord Jesus- in the middle of a trial that he speaks the truth in the name of God. This situation did not seem to have bothered the Lord Jesus who turned it into an opportunity to lay out the truth about himself and his ministry. He seized this opportunity and professed his true identity again to the hostile audience.

In those days, people would make you swear upon a power higher than yourself—God in this case—to test the accuracy of your declaration or the genuineness and truthfulness of your heart. It was a real test of your integrity. People would actually rather choose not to say a thing out of fear of bringing some kind of damnation upon themselves than open their mouths and utter statements that were untrue. Swearing was a common practice in those days, ’even though the Torah warned its followers not to do so (Exodus 20:7). Frequently, you would hear words such as As The Lord liveth preceding a declaration to testify of the truthfulness or accuracy of the following statement. It was like calling God himself to be a witness. These are some of the practices Jesus preached against, saying, Let your no be no and your yes be yes. Anything more is of the devil. Please read the following:

Matthew 5:33–37: "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt