Thrice Holy = Three Persons?
A popular argument in favor of the trinity has it that because God is described as being thrice holy (“holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty”), therefore he is thrice personal (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). This is seen, for example, in the opening verse of the popular hymn, Holy, Holy, Holy.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
The use of this thrice holy terminology isn’t discussed in the main articles because there are better proofs for the trinity with more substantive weight that are worth addressing. But for those who find the argument persuasive, this article is meant to provide a more careful, contextual analysis of the scriptures in question. As is often the case with one-shot trinitarian prooftexts, a simple analysis of the context can help to show the problems intrinsic to their use.
Thrice Holy In Context
The thrice holy description of God appears in two places in scripture, Isaiah 6:1-4 and Revelation 4:8. Both occur in the context of a man having a vision of the throne of God in Heaven, and creatures attending the throne declaring that God is thrice holy. These also occur in a context of God vindicating his judgement on the peoples of the earth. So they are certainly meant to be interpreted as complementary passages, as often occurs in Revelation’s allusions to the rest of scripture.
If we did not have the commentary in Revelation, it would be reasonable for a trinitarian to interpret Isaiah’s thrice holy description of God as referring to the trinity. To be clear, Isaiah doesn’t teach that God is trinity; it simply refers to God as thrice holy without commentary. However, Revelation makes the same statement, and adds the reason for God’s receiving this threefold title.
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Rev 4:8)
In this passage, God is seen as thrice holy because 1) he was, 2) he is, and 3) he is to come. It is a reference to his temporal relationship to the kingdoms of man, that God has been righteous in his past judgements, he is righteous in his then-present judgement of the earth, and he will be righteous in the judgements of the kingdom he establishes at his return (in Christ and in the descent of New Jerusalem 1,000 years later).
The unchanging, eternal nature of God’s holiness is also discussed in Isaiah, simply in another context. When you compare the three passages together, the point seems to be that God’s ever-existent, unchanging holiness is a sure hope to the repentant, and a sure destruction to those who remain in rebellion against his righteous ways. Whereas idols may come and go, waxing and waning in power and character, God never changes; therefore the repentant are not destroyed (cf. Mal 3:3-6).
When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land and shall inherit my holy mountain. And it shall be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people’s way.” For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isa 57:13-15, emphasis mine)
Because the immediate context of Revelation 4 gives us an interpretive grid for God’s thrice holy nature (past, present, and future holiness), this should not be used as evidence for a thrice personal nature of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). If the trinity is biblical (which I contend it is not), it should be established on other grounds, leaving scriptures that reference his thrice holy nature as addressing something else entirely.