those present can plainly see it, and his voice and intonation are altered. How much more striking would the change be in someone in whom the Lord of the Worlds is allegedly indwelling and united, speaking with His own speech?

In that case there would necessarily have to be between his speech and voice and the speech and voices of the rest of humankind a difference far greater than the gap between a possessed person and one who is not—an incomparably wider gulf.

This is illustrated by Moses: when he heard God’s speech he heard a sound that shattered the norms, utterly unlike any sound he had ever known, and he witnessed extraordinary signs and marvels proving that only God could speak those words. By contrast, throughout the Messiah’s entire lifetime nothing in his speech or voice distinguished him from other people in a way that would establish even his prophethood, let alone his divinity. His prophethood was recognized only through independent proofs; his personal state showed no such difference—despite their claim that the union has accompanied him ever since his human nature was formed in the womb of his mother Mary and will remain inseparable from him for all eternity.

It is therefore self-evident that if his address to the people were the address of the Lord of the Worlds, he would not be God’s messenger; and if it were the address of the messenger, then it could not be the voice of the Lord of the Worlds.

Second, his speech is plainly the speech of a messenger and prophet, as is affirmed of him in virtually every context.