Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Abraham and Sarah

Regularly, this blog asks: “Are there any Old Testament proofs that hint at the Triune nature of God?”. In this post, we will look at the Hebrew letter “ה” (English “h”; pronounced “hay”; transliterated “”). Pictorially, this Hebrew letter may signal “three [lines]-forming-One,” which could then indicate “Triune.” Note: The name Elohim [“Gods”]—on the same basis of “three-forming-One”—can be denoted in Hebrew by merely using this one Hebrew letter made up of three lines, “ה,” which is (1) technically called a Monogrammaton,* which is (2) a one letter signal that, by itself, can stand for or indicate “God” Himself, and which could (3) also indicates “Trinity,” if the “three-in-One” (letter-idea) holds theological water.

This letter “ה” may also have a connection with the renaming of Abram and Sarai in Genesis 17.

Genesis 17 starts with God the Son speaking with Abram, and saying, “I [God the Son] am One of the El Shaddai [‘God the Mighty Ones’ (masc. pl.) = Trinity; the Hebrew for El Shaddai is 'שני']. Walk before Me [God the Son], and be blameless.” Then, in Genesis 17:5, 15, God the Son gives Abram and Sarai new names—“Abraham and Sarah”. Now let us see how these names are written in Hebrew:

image

Just by adding the letter “ה”, the names Abram and Sarai were changed to Abraham and Sarah. Possibly the same letter “ה,” used to denote the Triune God, was added to the names Abram and Sarai to distinguish them as further promoters and worshipers of the true God, the Triune God.

What do you think? Makes you wonder, right?

Saturday, October 17, 2009

God, the Amen

“Amen” the best known word in human speech is usually defined as firm, true, faithful or sure. The word amen occurs many times in both the Old and New Testament. Amen is an original Hebrew word that is transliterated into many languages including Greek. To our knowledge, there are two passages in the Bible where “Amen” is a Name. The first one occurs in Isaiah 65:16. Most of the modern Bible translations for this verse use the phrase “God of Truth” instead of “God, the Amen”.

That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in Elohim, the Amen; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by Elohim, the Amen; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

Isaiah 65:16

The second one occurs in Revelation 3:14, where Jesus Christ is given the same title “the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness”.

In one of the previous posts, I briefly mentioned about “the Amens of Jesus Christ”. It occurs 25 times in the Gospel of John. It is translated as “verily, verily” or “I tell you the truth”. I, however, suspect that the phrase “Amen, Amen, I say unto thee” refers to the Trinity. For example, in John 3:11, it is evident that Christ is using plurals when speaking about Himself.

"Amen, Amen, I say unto thee, We speak that We do know, and testify that We have seen; and ye receive not Our witness."

John 3:11

Should we read this as "Amen (God the Father), Amen (God the Spirit), I (Jesus Christ) say unto thee, We speak that We do know, and testify that We have seen; and ye receive not Our witness" ?

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Books, audio or blogs on Trinity

Books

Certainly, the best book available to read about Trinitarian proofs is the Holy Bible. Christian scholars have written commentaries on Trinitarian proofs based on the Bible and other traditional sources. Here is a list of books devoted to Old and New Testament Trinitarian proofs. I will update this list over time, so keep an eye on this post.
1. The Great Mystery: or, How can Three be One? by Christian William Henry Pauli. Published by William Macintosh, 1863. Can be downloaded for free from Google books.
Pauli (1800 – 1877) or Hirsch Prinz (his original Jewish name), was a presbyter of the Church of England. He also worked as a lecturer in Hebrew at Oxford University, Cambridge. The Great mystery; or, How can Three be One? was reprinted around 1970 and is being sold by messianic literature book stores under the title “The Great Mystery or how can three be one,” by Rabbi Tzvi Nassi. It’s unclear whether Rabbi Tzvi Nassi is CWH Pauli. This book draws its conclusions from the Old Testament and the writings of Jewish Mystics. Source: Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (John McClintock, p765, 1889)
2. The Mystery of the Holy Trinity in Oldest Judaism. By Dr. Frank McGloin. Published by McVey, 1916. Can be downloaded for free from Google books.
3. The Jewish Trinity: When Rabbis Believed in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit: by Yoel Natan. Published by Yoel Natan, 2003. Full preview available in Google books. Amazon Link
4. The Trinity As Revealed in the Old Testament by Ford Wilson (Paperback - Mar 13, 2007). Limited preview available in Google books.
5. The Trinity: In the Light of the Old Testament and Rabbinical Literature By Elias Newman (Paperback - 1922).
6. The Real Kosher Jesus: Revealing the mysteries of the hidden Messiah by Michael L. Brown
7. What the Rabbis Know About the Messiah: A Study of Genealogy and Prophecy by Rachmiel Frydland. Amazon Link
8. The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham. Amazon Link
9. The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God's Plan for Humanity by Daniel P. Fuller. Amazon Link
10. Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith by Michael Reeves. Amazon Link


Audio

Lectures in Trinity

Mike Reeves Lecture 


Blogs

Is the eternal life of the Trinity hierarchical or egalitarian? two blog posts written by Dr. Liam Goligher
Part 1: Is it Okay to Teach a Complementarianism Based on Eternal Subordination?
Part 2: Reinventing God






Sunday, October 4, 2009

Double-call: A trademark of Jesus Christ

Many Christians are aware of the famous “Verily, Verily” (the Amens of Jesus Christ) phrase used by Christ during his ministry on earth. According to many sources, it happens 25 times in the Gospel of John. Scholars say Christ used this phrase to emphasize that what He is saying is absolutely true. A reader of modern Bible translations may miss these phrases, because, in the name of easy reading, “Verily, Verily” is translated as “I tell you the truth.” In John 8:58, Jesus Christ claimed "...Amen, Amen, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."

So, does Christ use these types of phrases in the Old Testament as well? It looks as though Christ has a habit of using words/names twice in the Old and New Testaments. Apart from these “Verily, Verily” phrases, He also calls His servants twice by their names. Here are a few examples – you decide!

In the Old Testament

Genesis 22:11 But the Angel of the LORD (pre-incarnate Christ) called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he (Abraham) replied.
Genesis 46:2 And Elohim (God the Son) spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he (Jacob) replied.

It is interesting to note that in verse Genesis 46:3 another of Christ's famous statements appears: “Do not be afraid” (See also Genesis 15:1).
Exodus 3:4 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."

Christ appears to Moses in the burning bush along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He acts as a spokesperson (the Word) for HaElohim.

1 Samuel 3

10 Then Yhovah came and stood and called as at other times,
"Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

21 Yhovah continued to appear in Shiloh, since Yhovah revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord (God the Son / pre-incarnate Christ).

In the New Testament

Luke 10:41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord (Jesus Christ) answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,
Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you as wheat; but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.
Acts 9:4 He (apostle Paul) fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me (Risen Savior, Jesus Christ)?"

Christ also used this double-call in two other places. Psalm 22 (a fascinating picture of Christ’s work on the cross) starts with “My God (the Father), My God (the Spirit), why did You forsake Me (God, the Son)? Why are You so far from helping me, as I roar out? The New Testament fulfillment of this prophesy is Christ’s fourth word on the cross which is recorded in Matthew 27:46 - “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” There is a possibility that Christ could have used this double-call to address just God the Father.

According to the Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics By J. Edwin Hartill, there are only seven humans who received this double call.