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The Trinity in the Old
Testament Some people are under the misunderstanding that the Trinity is not found in the Old Testament. Some of our Jewish friends and even gentile friends are 'mildly' to 'extremely' offended by the concept of the Trinity. What I intend on doing is walking us through the Old Testament and demonstrating that the Trinity, or Triune-ity, is clearly taught throughout the Old Testament. First we will refute a misconception, then go in step order of proof ie Proof 1, Proof 2 Proof 3......I will try to make it as simple as possible but say a prayer that God will give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation... The Doctrine of the Trinity is that God "exists" in three distinct persons: God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit REFUTATION The most frequently quoted verse in the Old Testament that used to supposedly 'refute' the trinity concept is found in what the Jews call the SHEMA: CJB Deuteronomy 6:4 "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]; NAU Deuteronomy 6:4 "aHear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the bLORD is one! The word in question is the word "ONE" First the Scholarly stuff: 61.0 dx;a, (°eµad) one, same, single, first, each, once, fem. °aµat ( tx;a; ). It is pronounced "ech-ad" This word occurs 960 times as a noun, adjective, or adverb, as a cardinal or ordinal number, often used in a distributive sense. It is closely identified with y¹µad "to be united" and with rœ°sh "first, head," especially in connection with the "first day" of the month (Gen 8:13). It stresses unity while recognizing diversity within that oneness.
Ok so we see that the word we are dealing with, "ech-ad" is used in a few different ways; but we see it speaks of ONENESS and stresses UNITY while recognizing DIVERSITY within.
Let us now let the Scriptures speak for themselves, and enlighten us as to the clear teaching of the Old Testament; and if anyone has eyes to see and ears to hear let God, the Holy Spirit speak to us and give clarity and understanding.
Taking first the SHEMA NAU Deuteronomy 6:4 "aHear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the bLORD is one "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one];
“the Lord, our God, the Lord, one.”
(1) One option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone” (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT). This would be an affirmation that the Lord was the sole object of their devotion. This interpretation finds support from the appeals to loyalty that follow (vv. 5, 14).
(2) Another option is to translate: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is unique.”
In this case the text would be affirming the people’s allegiance to the Lord, as well as the Lord’s superiority to all other gods. It would also imply that he is the only one worthy of their worship.
Support for this view comes from parallel texts such as Deut 7:9 and 10:17, as well as the use of “one” in Song 6:8-9, where the starstruck lover declares that his beloved is unique (literally, “one,” that is, “one of a kind”) when compared to all other women. By the way, that is what our Lord Jesus Christ is called-the only-begotten or UNIQUELY ONE OF A KIND Son of God.
There are many scriptures that confirm the ONENESS of our God-The following are a few of them. Read them and meditate on them and the Holy Spirit will make it very very clear what ONENESS means in these scriptures....He is the sole object of their devotion and one of a kind and superior to any so-called god. CJB Exodus 8:6 He answered, "Tomorrow." Moshe said, "It will be as you have said, and from this you will learn that ADONAI our God has no equal. CJB Exodus 9:14 For this time, I will inflict my plagues on you, yourself, and on your officials and your people; so that you will realize that I am without equal in all the earth. CJB 1 Samuel 2:2 "No one is as holy as ADONAI, because there is none to compare with you, no rock like our God. CJB 1 Kings 8:23 and said, "ADONAI, God of Isra'el, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep covenant with your servants and show them grace, provided they live in your presence with all their heart. CJB 2 Kings 18:5 He put his trust in ADONAI the God of Isra'el; after him there was no one like him among all the kings of Y'hudah, nor had there been among those before him. CJB Isaiah 44:6 Thus says ADONAI, Isra'el's King and Redeemer, ADONAI-Tzva'ot: "I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no God. JB Jeremiah 10:6 There is no one like you, ADONAI! You are great, and your name is great and mighty. So we all can agree that the meaning of the word "ech-ad" ONE in Deut. 6:4 is either ALONE or UNIQUE... ie that God Alone is to be worshipped and He is Unique above all so-called gods. Does this contradict what I believe as a Christian about God? Not at all..I believe the same thing as our Jewish friends.
1. My God is ONE-He is the sole object of my total devotion. 2. My God is Unique and Superior to all the other so-called-gods, and is the only one worthy of my worship.
I worship the God of Israel!!!
So we are in total agreement. But this verse in no way at all refutes the concept of the TRINITY.
************************************** Let us proceed by examining other scriptures containing the word ONE- (ech-ad) the exact Hebrew word used in Deut. 6:4
In other words here is the question: Can God be One and still be ONE? Let's take a look.
Because the Triune God we believe in implies Plurality can we find Plurality in this word "ech-ad?" Lets take a look at these specific scriptures containing the same exact Hebrew word:
NAU Genesis 2:24 aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one (ech-ad ) flesh. Here God is saying the Two becomes One in the instance of marriage.
This is a clear teaching of compound unity in this word ONE. Would you agree with me that God just said TWO are ONE?
Let's go to another useage of ONE (ech-ad) NAU Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth 1used the same (ech-ad) language and 2the same (ech-ad) words.
Go ahead and translate it literally: Now the whole earth used ONE language and ONE words. Doesn't make sense does it? That is because this useage of (ech-ad) ONE, carries with the idea of "compound plurality" in ONENESS. So here again One means Many words right?
Let's go to another one:
NAU Genesis 11:6 The LORD said, "Behold, they are one (ech-ad) people, and they all have 1athe same (ech-ad) language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be 2impossible for them.
God says that many people are One (ech-ad) and they have many words which He calls One (ech-ad). Many people equal ONE...and Many words equals ONE. Are we beginning to get the picture?
Here are more:
Genesis 34:16 then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will 1live with you and become one (ech-ad) people. NAU Exodus 24:3 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the 1ordinances; and all the people answered with one (ech-ad) voice and said, "aAll the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!" As you can plainly see this word ONE (ech-ad) not only can mean sole or alone and unique but also can have a sense of Compound Unity, according to the context it is used.
So I think this more than adequately answers the questions raised by some from the SHEMA--Deut. 6:4.
Before we move on I want to also stress the idea of DIVERSITY within UNITY which can also be implied in this word. So we see in this word:
COMPOUND UNITY- PLURALITY- DIVERSITY...The very aspects we see in the Triune God, God consisting in three distinct persons. So let's proceed
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PROOF 1
The use of the Word 'ELOHIM' (el-o-him) for God. NAU Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God (el-o-him) created the heavens and the earth.
(Ok, here comes some scholarly stuff--bear with me)
Here we find in the very first verse of the Bible the word for God used is 'ELOHIM' (el-o-him) which is in the plural form instead of the word ELOAH (el-o-ah) which is the singular form. Why this is important is that it is used with singular verbs and pronouns.
*ELOHIM (el-o-him) is in the plural form and is used with verbs and pronouns that are in the Singular form.
According to the Hebrew scholars:
1. This form has been called the “plural of majesty” or the “intensive plural” because it implies that all the fullness of deity is concentrated in the one god. Elohim being the most common word for God in the OT thus conveys this idea. Some have also thought that the frequent use of Elohim emphasizes that God is not intrinsically monistic but includes within Himself plurality of powers, attributes, and personhood.” [Bromiley, Geoffrey W. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised, Vol. 2, Page 505-506. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1988; 2002.]
2. “The plural ending is usually described as a plural of majesty and not intended as a true plural when used of God. This is seen in the fact that the noun elohim is consistently used with singular verb forms and with adjectives and pronouns in the singularAge to Christianity, 2d ed., p. 213).
But a better reason can be seen in Scripture itself where, in the very first chapter of Gen, the necessity of a term conveying both the unity of the one God and yet allowing for a plurality of persons is found (Gen 1:2,26). This is further borne out by the fact that the form elohim occurs only in Hebrew and in no other Semitic language, not even in Biblical Aramaic (Gustav F. Oehler, Theology of the Old Testament, p. 88).” [Harris, R. L., Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K. (1999, c1980). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed.) (Page 044). Chicago: Moody Press.]
So as we can see the plural form of this word may be regarded: (1) as intensive to indicate God's fullness of power (2) as majestic to indicate God's Kingly Rule (3) as an allusion to the Trinity. (Gen 1:26) (The Complete Word Study Dictionary
This is from the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) More probable is the view that °§lœhîm comes from °§lœah as a unique development of the Hebrew Scriptures and represents chiefly the plurality of persons in the Trinity of the godhead (see °§lœhîm ).
PROOF 2 Our second proof is the very unusual "US" verses in Scripture: * JPS Genesis 1:26 And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' Wow!!! "Let us...our image" In the creation of man (El-o-him, plural) said "Let us (plural) make man in our (plural) image. So there ws plurality in the Godhead during CREATION. Is God including the angelic hosts as co-creators of man? May it never be!!! * CJB Genesis 3:22 ADONAI, God, said, "See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever - " Could this "us" be His inclusion of angelic hosts? If so He is saying that Angels are of the same essence as Himself. Never!!! * Genesis 11:7 Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.' * CJB Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of Adonai saying, "Whom should I send? Who will go for us?" I answered, "I'm here, send me!" Isn't it obvious that when "us" is used with God that it is clearly speaking of the triune Godhead? What are the alternatives. Speaking of Creation, Would the all wise, all knowing, all powerful God would need to call on the angelic hosts to accomplish the act of creation? He created the hosts of heaven. Who would the God of Majesty consult with or solicit advice from any of His creation before He did anything? These scriptures alone surely point the the Triune God of the Bible. I think we can see that the use of the plural (el-o-him) along with the use of (us), suggests either the divine majesty or that fullness of his being that was to find its ultimate theological expression in the doctrine of the Trinity. It is interesting that even the Rabbi's recognized that Gen 1.26 was support for the triunity of God. In the Midrash Rabbah on Genesis: Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman in the name of Rabbi Jonathan said, that at the time when Moses wrote the Torah; writing a portion of it daily, when he came to this verse which says, "And Elohim said let us make man in our image after our likeness," Moses said, Master of the Universe why do you give herewith an excuse to the sectarians (who believe in the triunity of God)? God answered Moses, You write and whoever wants to err let him err. Also, there is a long passage in the Talmud (Jers., Ber. 12d, 13a) dealing with the problems of the singular-plural combinations in single texts; most explanations of which are really non-answers. The participants in the discussion point out several such verses, including Josh 24.19--"for He is a holy (plural) God"! PROOF 3 The manifestations of God in the Scriptures: * The Angel of the Lord Most of you are familiar with the story of Abraham (still called Abram), Sarai and her servant Hagar. Anyway to help God along in His plan to bless Abraham with the promised seed, Sarai insisted that Abraham take Hagar to produce a child since she, herself, was barren. Well when Hagar conceived, Sarai resented her and treated her harshly so she fled from Sarai into the wilderness. Here is where we pick up the story... Genesis 16:7-16 7 Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. 8 And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." 9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." 10 Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." 11 And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD (YHVH-Jehovah) has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." 13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. 16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram. Notice:
Now let me ask you a simple question. How in the world could you explain this passage without agreeing that there has to be the concept of plurality in the Godhead. Over and over in scriptures we are confronted with a Person who is referred to as God, or acts exactly like God, but He refers to God in the third person as being someone else? All these passages could not possibly be explained except by the doctrine of the Triune-God....God manifesting Himself in three persons. ************************************** Lets examine Genesis 18-19 First verses 1-3 Gen 18:1 And
Jehovah appeared to him in the plains of
Mamre, and he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day. v1. Jehovah (YHVH) Himself appears to Abraham v2. Three men (this word for men stresses male gender not humanity. But we see three distinct males appearing. v2. Abraham ran with haste to them (plural)-someone extremely important. v2. Abraham bowed down (TO PROSTRATE ONESELF, TO DO REVERENCE, TO DO WORSHIP). v3. Abraham called the three men "My Lord" (a-don; root of Adonai). This word 'Lord' means Lord or Master and carries with it the nuance of 'Authority;' also, when it is used with Jehovah (v1) it means SOVEREIGN. To me this looks like a perfect picture of the Trinity how about you? God in three persons blessed Trinity.
Secondly verses 17-19
Gen 18:17 And Jehovah said, Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do, Gen 18:18 And Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the persons of the earth shall be blessed in him? Gen 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his sons and his house after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do justice and judgment, that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which He has spoken of him
Gen 19:24 Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire, from Jehovah out of the heavens.
Stong evidence for Triune God wouldn't you say?
More tomorrow Thanks to the Christian Think-Tank
************************************** Gen 21 But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring." Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation." Notice:
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Gen 22 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." Notice:
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Gen 31 The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.' " Notice:
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Exodus 3 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight --why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Notice:
Exodus 13:21-22 with 14:19-20 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. Notice:
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Numbers 22:34-35 with 22:38 and 23:12 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back." The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. "Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth." He answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?" Notice:
Judges 2.1-4 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD. Notice:
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I Chron 21 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Notice:
Other Passages: (1) In the Gideon story (Judg 6), one reads "and the angel of the Lord appeared to him" (v12), and a little later , "and YAHWEH turned to him and said" (v14). In v.22 Gideon equates the two. (2) Ten times "the angel of YHWH" appears in Judges 13 (and "the angel of God" two times, v6,9) to announce the birth of Samson. Toward the end of the narrative Manoah exclaims, "we shall surely die, for we have seen God" (v22). Pushback: "Glenn, the word for ANGEL is the same word translated 'messenger' elsewhere. So all those passages in which the ANGEL speaks as YHWH (in the 1st person) could simply be short forms of a message from Yhwh, WITHOUT the "thus says the Lord" clause. For example, Glenn, the passage in Gen 22 that you cite has the Angel saying the LONG form: The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous.. Here we have the Angel speaking with an "I swear" but adding quickly "declares the Lord". This would form the general pattern of all the later OT prophets, who consistently spoke as YHWH in the 1st person, but ALWAYS qualified it by "declares the Lord". So why couldn't the Angel's messages be simply shortened forms of prophetic utterances, and so not leading us to believe he was claiming to be/acting like YHWH?" Response: The angel IS often a messenger, but the main reasons I don't find this objection strong enough to overturn the original arguments: 1. 'Short forms' in the OT are exceptionally rare (Is 11.9?) so why would we believe there was such a thing? The prophets were VERY CAREFUL to make it clear it was the word of THE LORD! 2. My argument in Gen 22 hinged upon the 'withheld' clause and not from the form of the blessing pronouncement. 3. The passages had OTHER means of identifying the Angel with YHWH than JUST the pronouncements--the response of the humans, the actions of the Angel, more explicit identifications (esp. Ex 3). 4. Whoever did the 'collapsing' (the editor/author/compiler) obviously was not that hyper-sensitive to what types of 'pluritarian' heresy he/she would generate! To a unitarian monotheism, these 'tensions' would have been glaring. [Compare the rabbinic story of how God rebuked Solomon for using a three-fold 'holy, holy, holy', and forced him to write Ecc 4.8, due to such sensitivities! (Debar r. ii. 33, also Bamm. r. xvi. 14)] So the objection seems weaker and less substantial than does the original argument. Summary: The Angel of the LORD is both God and yet refers to someone else as God. (If we don't believe there are TWO gods, I think we are 'locked into' developing some kind of plurality-within-unity concept.) This figure is beyond the normal angels and indeed is somehow SPECIALLY linked to the 'being' of God--He is called the angel of "His presence" (Is 63.9) , the angel with God's "Name" in Him (Ex 23:20-23), and is placed in a parallel construction with God's action in Zech 12.8 ("and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them."). Thanks to the Christian Think-Tank
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Proof 4 THE SPIRIT OF GOD
Let's look at some passages that manifest some sort of 'distinction' between God and His Spirit (e.g. sending, putting, withdrawing, giving) Gen 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Num 11:29 But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" Neh. 9:20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. Ps. 51:11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Ps. 104:30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. Isa. 32:15 till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. Isa. 42:1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. Isa. 48:16 "Come near me and listen to this: From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there." And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit. Isa. 63:11 Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people -- where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, Ezek. 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Hag. 2:5 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.' Now, we look at some passages that demonstrate the personal characteristics of this 'remote Agent' of God Neh. 9:20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. Ps. 106:33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips. Ps. 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. Isa. 34:16 Look in the scroll of the LORD and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together. Isa. 63:10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. Isa. 63:14 like cattle that go down to the plain, they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD. This is how you guided your people to make for yourself a glorious name. Micah 2:7 Should it be said, O house of Jacob: Is the Spirit of the LORD angry? Does he do such things?" "Do not my words do good to him whose ways are upright? Summary: The Spirit of God seems to be a 'dispatch-able' Agent (like the messenger Angel), who can grieve, teach, give rest, be angry, be rebelled against, etc. He is at the same time a 'part of' God and 'distinct from' God. Plurality-in-unity. **************************************
Proof 5 Messiah The King
Since it is commonly understood that the Messiah was sent from God and ruled FOR God on earth, and therefore was QUITE 'distinct from' God, all that needs to be shown in this section is that the Messiah was ALSO declared to be divine himself.
Since it is commonly understood that the Messiah was sent from God and ruled FOR God on earth, and therefore was QUITE 'distinct from' God, all that needs to be shown in this section is that the Messiah was ALSO declared to be divine himself. There are two points I want to demonstrate here in this regard: First, that many of the messianic passages were understood by non-Christian Jewish interpreters (and therefore not even remotely suspect of high-Christological bias!) as teaching of a super-human, super-angelic Messiah; Second, that at least two OT prophesies make explicit statements about the Messiah being YHWH. First: that ONE of the MANY messianic expectations of non-Christian Jewry was of a super-human, super-angel Messiah. (For full documentation of this, see my Messianic Expectations in 1st Century Judaism--Documentation from Non-Christian Sources) The data for this position divides into three types: pre-Christian Jewish writings, data gleaned from the NT about Jewish expectations at the time of Christ (which we will NOT consider, since these are in the NT), and then from post-Christian writings (e.g. the Rabbinix). Pre-Christian Jewish writings.The normal sources that one consults here are: The Septuagint (LXX) translation of the Hebrew OT, early portions of the Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigraphix, and the documents from Quman. The LXX renderings: (1) Gen 49.10 and Num 24:7, 17 points out that the kingdom of the Messiah was higher than any kingdom that is earthly (2) Ps 72: 5,7: The existence of the Messiah was pre-mundane: before the Moon and Eternal (3) Ps 110:3: The Messiah existed before the morning star (4) Is 9.6: This passage shows that the Messiah was superior to men and angels...The 'Angel of the Great Council' is also the 'Angel of the Face' (as the Targum on the passage demonstrates) The Jewish Apocrypha is generally silent on the entire Messianic issue (their concerns seemed to lie elsewhere). The Jewish Pseudepigraphix gives us several strong statements: (1) Sibylline Oracles 3.285,286: the Messiah is the 'king sent from heaven' who would 'judge every man in blood and splendor of fire'. (2) Sibylline Oracles 3.652: the Messiah is called the "King whom God will send from the sun". (3) The Book of Enoch: Variously describes the Messiah as "The Woman's Son" (62.5), "The Son of Man" (48.2;62.7; 69.29), God's “my son”(105.2) (4) The Psalms of Solomon (17-18) describe a highly developed Royal Messianic figure, bordering on perfection of qualities. Qumran: The group at Qumran consistently expected a future Messiah, with 'advanced qualities', but put much more emphasis on the human, Davidic aspects of the Messiah. So 4QFlor 1:10-13 on 2 Sam 7.13-14 describes the Messiah as Son of David, Son of God. So, the pre-Christian Jewish writings show that the belief in a pre-mundane, eternal, super-angelic, super-human Messiah was held at least by certain influential and literate Jewish leaders. [It is generally accepted by scholars today that NO SINGLE understanding of the Messiah was normative in Israel. Different groups held different conceptions of Him, and at least ONE group did not believe in one at all--the Sadduccees, who also denied the existence of angels and the resurrection.] Consider some of the scholarly assessments of this data today:
Strangely, the post-Christian Jewish writings also have an 'super-Messiah' strain. Edersheim ( LTJM:123) finds this surprising: If we now turn to works dating after the Christian era, we would naturally expect them, either simply to reproduce earlier opinions, or, from opposition to Christ, to present the Messiah in a less exalted manner. But since, strange to say, they even more strongly assert the high dignity of the Messiah, we are warranted in regarding this as the rooted belief of the Synagogue." There is an immense amount of Rabbinic data on the super-human, super-angelic character of the Messiah, of which I can only mention a few items: (1) The Messiah was eternal, created before the world, appearing in the world during the times of Jacob, Pharaoh, Imperial Rome, etc. (Targum on Is 9.6 and Micah 5.2; Midrash on Prov 8:9; Talmud--Jer. Ber. 2.4, p.5a; Sanh 98a; Ber. R. 85; Yalkut on Is 60) (2) The Messiah would be greater than the patriarchs, higher than Moses, and loftier than the ministering angels (Tanch, Par. Toledoth 14; Midr. on Ps 18:36) and indeed even be given God's OWN 'crown and glory' (Midrash on Ps 21:3!). (3) The messiah is even given credit for the work of God in creation! (the passage "the Spirit of God moved upon the deep"--Gen 1--is paraphrased in three places as "This is the Spirit of King Messiah": Ber r.2, and 8; Vayyikra R. 14) (4) The messiah is actually called YHWH in two passages(!)--Midrash on Lam 1.16 and on Ps 21) The rabbinic data leads clearly to the understanding that one MAIN belief of Israel was that "the Messiah expected was far above the conditions of the most exalted of God's servants, even His angels; in short, so closely bordering on the Divine, that it was almost impossible to distinguish Him therefrom" ( LTJM:1.179). Second, that at least two OT prophesies make explicit statements about the Messiah being YHWH. [The above material was cited and discussed to show that the concept of a super-human, super-angelic Messiah was NOT FOREIGN to non-Christian Jewish understanding of the messianic passages. IN LIGHT OF THIS "HIGH-VIEW" of the Messiah, I now want to examine 2 OT passages that appear to distinctly call the Messiah YHWH. I cannot be accused of making a "human-only" Messiah into some Divine figure (as Christians are sometimes accused). That OTHERS accepted the Messiah as 'more than man' is adequate defense from any such criticism in my direction.] I wish to briefly look at two messianic passages: Zech 12 and Mal 3. Zech 12.10: "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on ME(emphasis mine), the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for HIM (emphasis mine) as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Note:
This passage has both unity AND distinction. Mal 3.1 (coupled with Is 40.3-5): "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before ME (emphasis mine). Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. (Mal) A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. (Is) These passages were considered by the Rabbinical writers as part of a messianic-passage-complex that included Is 35.1-10; Hosea 2.14; and Ex 23.20. The main thing to note here is that the forerunner (Elijah-->John the Baptist) preceded both YHWH and the Messiah... These two passages illustrate that the admittedly super-human/super-angelic nature of the Messiah was that of YHWH (even though the Messiah was SENT BY YHWH). Also, please note that in biblical cosmology, the ONLY 'being' higher than the angels is GOD HIMSELF. To ascribe status to the Messiah 'greater than that of angels' pushes one either to (1) a plurality within God; or (2) postulating some completely unknown, unrevealed, undiscussed, undisclosed higher status of creature!. Summary. Even the data about the King Messiah strongly suggests a necessary plurality within God--or these texts are highly misleading! [Remember, these kinds of passages are FULLY predicted by trinitarianism (not explained by it, however!), but not by ANY of the rival theories.] It is interesting to me that the awe of encountering the Angel of YHWH did NOT stop them from engaging in some reflective work. For example, when Jacob wrestles with the Angel of YHWH in Gen 32, he is amazed that he saw 'God face to face, yet my life was spared'. And in Exodus, Moses is consistently warned that if anyone sees YHWH's face, he will die--yet Moses speaks face-to-face with YHWH frequently (cf 33.20 with 33.11). The Angel of YHWH seems to be the One who is always seen face-to-face in history, whereas YHWH Himself is never seen. A plurality-in-unity understanding makes this a little easier to understand, but their early efforts in this area stayed very pragmatic--they were still alive after confronting God! Yet the Old Testament writers--from the end to the beginning--did not think it blasphemous to accord this special Angel the very SAME honor, glory, and status of God--often, in the EXACT same statement! So, early in the OT we have Israel, upon his deathbed, blessing the children of Joseph: Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the Angel who has delivered me from all harm -- may he bless these boys. (Gen 48:15f) This Angel was the God of Abraham and Issac, and was Israel's shepard. Could anything be plainer than that statement? And Hosea, recounting the experience of Jacob's wrestling with the Angel, attaches the highest title of deity in all of Scripture to this angel: In the womb he grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there --the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name of renown! (Hos 12.3-5) This Angel was the "LORD God Almighty"?! Could anything be plainer than that statement? [Excerpts taken from The Christian Think Tank-http://www.christian-thinktank.com/]
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