7/21/2022 0 Comments The Hebrew TrinityUp until A.D. Second Century, it was the Hebrews' understanding from their Bible that their God is one yet paradoxically three. Yes, they were monotheistic, meaning that they believe that there is only one true self-existent God. At the same time, many of the Hebrews who knew their Bible well were becoming Christians, because they were seeing the clear link between the mysterious appearances of "second Yahweh" in the Bible and the person of Jesus. It was only when the Jewish elders feared losing more of their congregants to the Christian faith that they declared their biblical concept of the "One yet Three" Godhead a heresy. The Hebrew Bible, what we now call the Old Testament, truly prepared the people's minds to accept the arrival of the Messiah as the arrival of God Himself. The Gateway to the Hebrew perspective: The Theological Battle between Jesus and the Elders in John 10 During the Festival of Lights or Hanukkah, the Jewish elders look for Jesus. They have already concluded that Jesus is not the Messiah despite the indisputable evidence. And they demand that Jesus declare Himself as the Messiah, so that they may have a pretext to charge Him with blasphemy and kill Him. Jesus replies, "My sheep hear My voice..." "I give eternal life..." "No one will snatch them out of My hand..." and "I and the Father are one." There, the elders have the answer they were looking for, and pick up stones to throw at Jesus. They say, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself out to be Elohim (i.e. God)." It was not lost on the elders that Jesus' use of the shepherd imagery [Ps 23:1; 79:13], His claim to have the authority to give eternal life [Dt 32:39], and His claim to be one with the Father [Dt 6:4] were all claims to deity. But there is one thing that elders are refusing to acknowledge: the biblical concept of God being one yet two. To this, Jesus responds in a peculiar way. He quotes Psalm 82:6, the meaning of which they would understand. Psalm 82 is about God being very unhappy with the supernatural beings whom God has put in charge of the world nations (as indicated in Dt 32:8, "When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God."), and God says to these beings, "I said, 'You are Elohim (i.e. gods), and all of you are sons of the Most High.'" -- Sidenote: The term "Elohim" is a plural form of "Eloah" which is a categorical term, and it means any supernatural being in the spiritual realm. "Elohim" can mean God (singular), or gods (plural). Whenever it refers to Yahweh, the grammar always has a singular meaning. When it refers to other supernatural beings -- demons [Dt 32:17], gods of the nations [1Ki 11:33], heavenly beings [Ps 82:1] -- the grammar shifts to a plural meaning. A good similarity is the word "sheep." Sheep can be either singular or plural. Thus, the context will show who is referred to when "Elohim" is used. A good example is Ps 82:1, which reads, "Elohim (God) takes His stand in the congregation of the divine; He judges among the elohim (gods)." -- By quoting Psalm 82, Jesus takes the elders by the hand, and takes baby steps out into the bright light where they will have to see the irrefutability of His claim to deity. Jesus affirms with a hint of sarcasm that they are correct in finally realizing that He is claiming to be more than a man. In effect, Jesus says, "Congratulations, you finally understood what I was saying about Myself all along, that I am a supernatural being. Well, don't act surprised. Certainly, your own Bible allows for the existence of supernatural beings other than Yahweh." Having established this common understanding that He is claiming to be more than a man, Jesus takes one more step and declares (again) that He is species-unique, that is, one of a kind. "Among all the supernatural beings who are called sons of God, I am a unique Son, because the Father has set Me apart from all of them" [Jn 10:36]. "If I don't do supernatural works, don't believe My claim. But since I do them, believe My claim that the Father is in Me and I in the Father" [Jn 10:37,38]. Right there, by the last statement, Jesus again sets them off into a rage, because they have no counter-argument. Jesus has the Bible allowing room for His claim to be an elohim (Ps 82:6). He claims to be a unique elohim who is "one with the Father" (Dt 6:4), the one "set apart" (Ps 2:7), the one "whom the Father is in" (Ex 23:21). And He has the miracles to authenticate His claim. More to the point, Jesus is the "second Yahweh" whom they certainly would have known to appear in their Bible. "One yet Two" Yahweh Deuteronomy 6:4 is known as Israel's national confession of the existence of only one eternal God who had no beginning. In a word, Israel is monotheistic. But at the same time, the Hebrew scholars are faced with puzzling yet self-evident references to a Second Being who shares an equal identity with Yahweh. 1. In order to punish Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, Yahweh rains down brimstone and fire "from Yahweh" out of heaven [Ge 19:24]. In recounting the same event, Yahweh mentions how He overthrew Israel "as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah" [Amos 4:11]. 2. Right before Abraham is about to slay his son Isaac in obedience to God, "the messenger of Yahweh" intervenes from heaven, and says, "... now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me" [Ge 22:11,12]. 3. Jacob recalls a vision he had to his two wives, saying, "The messenger of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob... I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me...'" [Ge 31:11-13]. Several chapters ago, it is Yahweh who appears to Jacob in a vision at Bethel, and it is to Yahweh that Jacob makes a vow [Ge 28:13,20-22]. 4. Jacob gives his patriarchal blessing to his grandchildren Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the messenger who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads..." [Ge 48:15,16]. Thus, "the messenger" is equal to God. 5. Moses has his very first encounter of his life with the divine. "The messenger of Yahweh" appears to Moses as a self-sustaining fire "from the midst of a bush." Moses comes closer to get a better look. "When Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush..." [Ex 3:2,4]. 6. At Mount Horeb, Yahweh speaks to Moses, "Behold, I am going to send a messenger before you to guard you along the way... Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him" [Ex 23:20,21]. And the name of Yahweh is synonymous with all that Yahweh is and His very presence [ref. Dt 12:5,11 where the name signifies Yahweh's presence; Ps 20:1,7 where the name means God's power; 2Sa 6:2 where the ark of the covenant is called by the name, hence the very representation of God's throne; Is 30:27 where the name signifies God's vengeance]. This messenger of Yahweh who has the authority to forgive or punish transgressions [ref. Ps 51:4 in which David acknowledges all sins are against God alone], who is the name of Yahweh, is unmistakably Yahweh Himself. 7. The messenger of Yahweh gathers up the sons of Israel and appears to them at Bochim, and says, "I brought you up out of Egypt... and I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you...' But you have not listened to my voice..." [Jdg 2:1-2]. Again, Yahweh sends to disobedient Israel a prophet who relays a message from Him, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'It was I who brought you up from Egypt and brought you out from the house of slavery... But you have not listened to My voice.' " [Jdg 6:8-10]. 8. The messenger of Yahweh sits under a tree that belongs to Gideon's family. The messenger appears to Gideon and greets him, "Yahweh is with you, O mighty man of valour." Gideon responds with a strong disagreement and believes that God has forsaken Israel to be destroyed by the hostile Midianites. Then... "Yahweh turned to him and said, 'Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite Midian as one man.'" Then Gideon wants proof that it is Yahweh who speaks with him, so he says, "Please do not depart from here, until I come back to You, and bring out my offering and lay it before You." Yahweh permits him. So doubting and timid Gideon goes ahead, and does his thing to prove to himself that Yahweh is speaking to him. "Then the messenger of Yahweh put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread; and fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the messenger of Yahweh vanished from his sight." Then Gideon becomes terrified that he has indeed "seen the messenger of Yahweh face to face." And Yahweh assures him that he will not die [Jdg 6:12-22; ref. Ex 33:20 where God warns Moses that whoever sees His face will die (Gideon did not die because God did not really show His face)]. 9. Yahweh shows Zechariah a vision of future Jerusalem, finally safe from all enemies, And "thus says Yahweh of armies, 'After glory He has sent Me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye... Then you will know that Yahweh of armies has sent Me. Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst... I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that Yahweh of armies has sent Me to you...'" [Zec 2:8-11]. So... These are clear hints to the paradox of "One yet Two" Yahweh. But we want to know more about this Second Person who is equally identified with Yahweh. There are already hints to the fact that He has a visible form and is embodied in a physical human form (e.g. His interaction with Gideon). Can we find out more about this visible Being? The answer is: yes. Embodied Yahweh Genesis 3:8,9... Adam and his wife hear "the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden," and hide themselves. Genesis 15:1,4,5,7... "The word of Yahweh" comes to Abraham "in a vision," which means whoever the "word" is, he must be in a visible form. The word of Yahweh promises Abram a child, and then "took him outside" to make Abram look at the night sky. So this word of Yahweh is not only visible, but also tangible and who physically brings Abram outside. The word identifies Himself as "Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans." Genesis 32:24-30... Jacob wrestles with a mysterious man until daybreak. And the man gives Jacob his new name "Israel," because he has wrestled with God. Afterwards, Jacob named that place "Face of God," because "I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved." 1Kings 18:31... It is written that the word of Yahweh had once come to Jacob, saying, "Israel shall be your name." Clearly, the word of Yahweh is the same as the man with whom Jacob wrestled. Joshua 5:13-15... Joshua encounters a mysterious man with a drawn sword. The man identifies himself, saying, "I indeed come now as captain of the army of Yahweh... Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy" [ref. Ex 3:5]. 1Samuel 3:1,7-21... "And word from Yahweh was rare in those days, visions were infrequent." Again, word of Yahweh is linked with visions, meaning that the word is a visible phenomenon, not an auditory one. Samuel "did not yet know Yahweh, not had the word of Yahweh yet been revealed to him... Then Yahweh came and stood and called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!'... All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of Yahweh. And Yahweh appeared again at Shiloh, because Yahweh revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of Yahweh." The word of Yahweh is identified as Yahweh, who physically appears to Samuel. Jeremiah 1:4-9... The word of Yahweh comes to Jeremiah and speaks to him. Then Yahweh carries on the conversation with Jeremiah, and "stretched out His hand and touched my mouth." This word is embodied in a human form. Deuteronomy 33:26... The famous pagan deity Baal, who controls agriculture, has the title "The Cloud Rider." And Moses wants to destroy Baal, and give credit to whom credit is due. So he appropriates the title for Yahweh, and says that it is the God of Israel who "rides the heavens to your help, and through the clouds in His majesty." The sky is not Baal's abode; it is Yahweh's. Psalm 68:33,34... Again, Yahweh "rides upon the highest heavens... And His strength is in the clouds." Psalm 104:3... Again, Yahweh "makes the clouds His chariot." Isaiah 19:1... Again, Yahweh "is riding on a swift cloud." Ezekiel 1:1-28... The word of Yahweh comes to Ezekiel in a vision. Above the clouds of fire, Ezekiel sees the throne surrounded by fire and a radiant man on top of it. Ezekiel calls what he saw as "the glory of Yahweh." Daniel 7:9-14... Daniel has his vision, and he sees the throne of "the Ancient of Days" are fiery flames, and a river of fire is flowing from the throne. Then he sees "one like a son of man" coming up to the Ancient of Days "with the clouds of heaven," and the Ancient of Days gives to this mysterious man "dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and languages might serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed" [ref. Da 6:26 where it is the God of Daniel whose kingdom will not be destroyed and whose dominion is forever]. "One yet Three" Yahweh If the paradox of "One yet Two" was not overwhelming enough, God introduces another "same-yet-distinct" Member: the Spirit. Genesis 1:2... The Spirit of God hovers over the surface of waters before the creation week. Isaiah 63:8-14... Yahweh calls Israel His people and becomes their Savior. The angel of His presence saves Israel. Then Israel "rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them... Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses... Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of him?... As the cattle which go down into the valley, the Spirit of Yahweh gave him rest" [ref. Ge 6:6]. Psalm 78:40,41... Israel often "rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert. Again and again they put God to the test, and pained the Holy One of Israel." Ezekiel 2:1,2... The vision of Yahweh on His throne terrifies Ezekiel. And God says, "Son of man, stand on your feet..." Then "the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet." Traumatized Ezekiel cannot even stand up properly without the supernatural help of the Spirit. Ezekiel 8:2-6... Ezekiel has another vision in which the same radiant man from 1:27 "stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heavens and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem." And the New Testament believers acknowledge that the person of the Holy Spirit has a deep involvement in the Old Testament. Mark 12:36; Acts 4:25... The believers with Peter and John pray to Jesus, "O Sovereign, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said..." Jesus Himself affirms that it is the Holy Spirit who used David to write His infallible Psalms. Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 10:15,16... The writer of Hebrews it is the Holy Spirit who gives the new covenant, while Jeremiah says it is Yahweh. Extra: Jesus is Wisdom Personified is Co-Creator with God Proverbs 8:22... Wisdom is a feminine noun in Hebrew, so it is personified as a woman here. Nevertheless, wisdom is pictured as being present with Yahweh as He forms the universe.
Luke 11:49... Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and tells them that the wisdom of God said, "I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute." Matthew 23:34... Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, and says, "I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city."
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CategoriesAll Discourse Doctrines Gospel Humour NT Commentaries OT Commentaries Tactical Life Date
August 2023
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