Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 92
92. Clearly it means that when Messiah came first, he was the. Son of man, and he will again be the Son of man when he comes next, and he was Son of man, as he himself says, when he was put on the cross. . REAL MEANING OF THE TERM. When, therefore, the Messiah (peace be on him) himself claims to be the son of man, there can be no justification for interpreting the term 'Son of God' in a sense which is neither. sustained by the Old Testament nor by the New Testament. . Under the circumstances, we must either say that the Messiah (peace be on him) was a demented person claiming to be Son of God at times and calling himself Son of man at others; or we should find some other solution to it and accept one as a metaphor and the other as a factual statement. If we can discover which of the two is an idiomatic expression and which a factual description, we can reach a correct conclusion without difficulty. If the expression 'Son of man' is an idiomatic one, then we must accept the other version as factual description. But if the appellation 'Son of God' is an idiomatic expression, then we have the added advantage of discovering the truth that the entire basis of atonement resting on the sacrifice of the Son of God turns out to be wholly unfounded. . When we study the New Testament in this light, we come across the following words of the Messiah (peace be on him): "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew, Ch. 5:9). . Here the Messiah calls other men also Sons of God, besides himself. It shows that by being named as Son of. God one does not become God. If by the mere fact of one being called a son, it follows that one must also accede to him the status of godhead, then as