hristians believed that God exists “as an undifferentiated monad” in that “the Son and the Spirit” are merely “modes of the Father’s self-revelation (JND Kelly Early Christian Doctrines, p.93).”
THE WRITINGS OF IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH PROVE HE WAS A MONARCHIAN MODALIST
Trinitarians often cite Ignatius to the Magnesians 6 to show that Jesus “was with the Father before all ages.” However, Ignatius had taught that Jesus was with the Father as the word (logos = “expressed thought”) of the Father (Magnesians 8:2; Ephesians 3:2), so Jesus could have been with the Father before all ages in God’s “expressed thought” (in His mind and plan which is the meaning of the Greek word “logos”).
Archbishop Wake translated Vossius' 1646 Greek text of Magnesians 6 identifying Jesus “the Father before all ages” who “appeared in the end for us.”
“Jesus Christ, who was the Father before all ages, and appeared in the end to us.”(The Lost Books of the Bible and the Forgotten Books of Eden, 173)
Wake’s translation appears to be from a variant text of Magnesians 6 which likely would not have been utilized by most Trinitarian Translators. The fact that a Trinitarian translator would utilize a variant text stating that “Jesus Christ, who was the Father before all ages” gives credence to their being a viable alternate reading of Magnesians chapter six.
If “with the Father before all ages” is correct, Jesus can be said to be with the Father within the eternal Logos or Mind of the Father. In John 17:5 “with” translated from Greek is “PARA” in the dative case. Thayer says that this “indicates that something is or is done either in the immediate vicinity of someone, or (metaph) in his mind.” (Joseph Henry Thayer, author of the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 477)
Ignatius wrote to the Ephesians 1:3 “Jesus Christ our inseparable life, is the mind of the Father.” How could a person’s MIND be ANOTHER PERSON beside Him? If Jesus is the Mind of the Father, He must be that Father. For how could the Father exist without His own mind? Ignatius personally knew the apostle John and heard his teachings which confirms that the logos in John 1:1 is not spoken of as a literal pre-incarnate Son, but as a Son who was already conceived in the mind (logos) of the Father before the ages of human history began.
The testimony of the earliest Christian witness was clearly Modalistic Monarchian (Oneness). Ignatius repeatedly called Jesus “God” without once mentioning him as an alleged God the Son (Ephesians 1.1, 7.2, 15.3, 17.2, 18.2, 19.3; Trallians 7.1; Romans 3.3, 6.3; Smyrneans 1.1; Polycarp 8.3). In fact, no early Christian writers used the words “Eternal Son” or “Eternally begotten Son” during the first two hundred years of Christian history.
Ignatius of Antioch wrote in Polycarp 3:2,
“Look for Him who is above time - the Timeless, the Invisible, who for our sake became visible, the Impassible, who became subject to suffering on our account and for our sake endured everything.”
Ignatius was taught by the original apostles, he wrote that the God who became “visible” was first “invisible” before his birth. Trinitarians often affirm that the Son was visible as one of the angels of Yahweh (Christophanies) in the Hebrew Scriptures, while the Father was invisible. But to Ignatius and the earliest Christian witness, the only invisible God later became the visible Son who was “subject to suffering on our account.”
Ignatius wrote to the Ephesians, “God appeared in the likeness of man unto the newness of everlasting life; and that which had been perfected in the counsels of God began to take effect.” (Ignatius to the Ephesians 19:3, J.B. Lightfoot Translation)
The Roberts-Donaldson translation of Ignatius to the Ephesians 19:3 expands on the nuances of meaning from the Greek text,
God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life. And now that took a beginning which had been prepared by God.” (Ephesians 19:3, Roberts-Donaldson Translation)
Ignatius wrote, “GOD appeared (“manifested” Roberts-Donaldson Translation) in the likeness of man (“in human f