Genesis 2: 7
And YHVH Elohim (The LORD God) formed the man [Adam] out of the dust [aphar] of the ground [ha’adamah] and breathed into his nostrils [aph] the breath of life/living [nishmat chayyim] and the Adam became a living soul [nefesh chayyah].
NOTE: The term “nefesh chayyah” can also mean: a living person, soul, spirit, intellect or a live body. Also, “neshamah chayyim” could be used as: breath of life or breath of soul.
Genesis 3: 19
In the sweat of thy brow will thou eat “lechem” [bread, food or a crop], till thou return to the ground [ha’adamah]; for out of it was thou taken; for dust [aphar] thou art, and unto dust [aphar] shalt thou return.
NOTE: Astrophysicists confirm the fact that humans are made out of interstellar dust cloud from a previously exploding sun; perhaps billions of years ago.
Job 7: 9
As the cloud [anan] is consumed and vanishes away; so is he that goes down to the grave [Sheol] and shall come up no more.
Job 10: 21-22
Before I go to from whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness [Eretz Choshech] and the shadow of darkness [V’Tzalmavet]; a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death [tzalmavet], without any order [sedarim] where the light is as darkness.
Job 14: 10, 12, 14
But man/male [gever] dies and wastes away; yea, man [adam] gives up the ghost [breathes his last], and where is he? So man [ish] lies down and rises not, till Heaven be no more, they shall not awake nor be raised out of their sleep. “If a man/male [gever] die shall he live again?” All the days of my appointed time [“tzava”-alt. reading, ‘hard army/military service’] will I wait until my “chalifah” [changing, renewal, or replacement??] come.
Job 17: 1, 13-16
My spirit/breath [ruach] is broken (corrupt), my days are extinct, and the graves [kevarim] are ready for me. If I wait, the grave [Sheol] is my house [bais]. I have made my bed in the darkness [choshech]. I have said to corruption [Shachat] you are my father [avi]; to the worm you are my mother [immi], and my sister [achoti]. And where now is my hope [tikveh]? As for my hope who regards it [alt. reading-who shall see it]? They shall go down to the bars of the pit [alt. reading-Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?], when our rest together is in the dust (aphar) [alt. reading-Shall we go down together in the dust?].
Psalms 104: 29b
Thou take away their breath, [ruach] they die (expire), and return to their dust [aphar].
Psalms 146: 4
His breath [ruach] goes forth (departs), he returns to his earth [adamah]; in that very day [yom] his very thoughts perish [alt. reading “his plans come to nothing.” OJB].
Ecclesiastes 3: 19a, 20-21
For that which befalls the sons of men befalls beasts; even one thing befalls them: as one dies so does the other; yea, they all have one breath [ruach]. All go to one place [mekom]; all are of the dust [aphar], and all return to the dust [aphar] again. “Who has knowledge of the spirit [ruach] of man that goes upward, and the spirit [ruach] of the beast that goes downward into the earth?”
Ecclesiastes 8: 12
Then shall the dust [aphar] return to the Earth [ha’Eretz] as it was; and the spirit [ruach] shall return unto God who gave it.
Luke 23: 46-47
And when Jesus [Yeshua] had cried out with a loud voice [gadol kol], He said, “Father into Thy hands do I commit My Spirit [Ruach].” And having said thus He gave up the ghost [He breathed His last breath].
Acts 7: 55, 59
But he [Stephen], being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into Heaven, and saw the glory (kavod) of God, and Jesus [Yeshua] standing on the right side of God, and they went on stoning Stephen, calling upon God, saying, LORD Jesus [Yeshua Adoneinu] receive my spirit [neshamah].
NOTE: According to Jewish Kabbalah, ‘neshamah’ is the highest level of the human soul or being; even greater than ‘ruach.’
Daniel 12: 2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the ground [admat aphar] shall awake; some to Everlasting Life [Chayyei Olam], and some to shame and Everlasting Abhorrence [Dera’on Olam] and Everlasting Gehinnon [Onesh Olam].
NOTE: “Dera’on Olam” means everlasting loathsome and abomination; “Onesh Olam” means eternal punishment and damnation.
1 Corinthians 5: 8
We are confident, I say, and are pleased rather to be absent from the body [basar], and to be at home with the LORD [Adoneinu].
COMMENTARY: It is not known exactly when humans started to believe in a life after the physical body decays in the ground after death. Whether it started with the Egyptians in North Africa, Mesopotamian Sumeria, the Australian aborigines, the Hindus of India, Zoroastrians of Persia [Iran], Judaism, or Taoists in China and Japan’s Shintoism; the one consistent theme, it is a universal belief among almost every major civilization on planet Earth. The thing though is whether the person who died would be raised in the same body or would it be a spiritual one. It seems that the Bible [Old and New Testaments] shows that this concept was an ever-evolving and apparently inconsistent one which gradually developed over time to where it is today, especially with the advent of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus [Yeshua]; and later with the Apostle Paul through his writings. It is interesting that some of the wisest men who ever lived, according to the TANAKH [Old Testament], namely Job and Solomon, seemed to have a rather pessimistic outlook, for the most part, about death and what comes after. They made quite a few statements that you live, then you die and return back to the earth (ground) and that is pretty much well it.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 12, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Bible and Reincarnation
There is doubtless no true Bible-believing Christian who could in all good conscience accept the doctrine of reincarnation or transmigration of souls. For the faithful the issue is clear as day because Hebrews 9: 27 states: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” And while this may seem to settle the matter, it does appear that there are some hints or inferences in Holy Writ which support a belief that in a special circumstance, some people who have a received a special divine calling are imbued with the spiritual power or soul essence [personality??] of a previously deceased saint. Consider the case of the prophet Elijah and his protégé Elisha, below:
2 Kings 2: 9, 15a
And it came to pass when they were gone over [the Jordan River], that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask, what shall I do for thee, before I be taken from thee.” And Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” And he [Elijah] said, “Thou have asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken away from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him [Elisha], they said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.”
NOTE: Why did Elijah say that what his pupil asked for was very difficult if it wasn’t something outside the natural human experience? I mean, Joshua took over leadership of the Israelites from Moses but the Scriptures do not say that he had the “spirit” of Moses, resulting in his great success and military victories.
2 Samuel 14: 14
For we must needs die, are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; yet God (Elohim) doth not take away the soul (nefesh) but devises means [‘Reincarnation’ or “Transmigration of souls”??], so that His banished be not expelled from Him. OJB
Ecclesiastes 1: 9-11
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time. There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be with those who come after any recollection (zikaron) of things that are to come.
Ecclesiastes 3: 15a
That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been. . .
NOTE: Does this statement apply to inanimate objects “only” and not human souls as well? Even the apostle John referred to Jesus [Yeshua] with the designation ‘That’ as in the following, below:
1 John 1
“That” which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life.
Matthew 16: 13-14
When Jesus [Yeshua] came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am”? And they said, “Some say that thou art John the Baptizer; some Elias [Elijah]; and others, Jeremias [Jeremiah], or one of the prophets.”
NOTE: Did the Jews, including the disciples, believe that Jesus was one of the prophets from old times who God resurrected from the grave, or rather that the ‘spirit’ or power or personality of one of them resided in Him?
Matthew 17: 10-12
And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then say the scribes that Elias [Elijah] must first come?” And Jesus answered and said unto them, “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say to you, that Elias is come already; and they knew him not. . .”
Matthew 3: 1-3, 5
In those days came John the Baptizer, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken by the prophet Esaias [Elijah], saying, ‘THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’ ” Then went out to him all Jerusalem, and all Judea, and the entire region round about Jordan. And were baptized of him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Luke 1: 13, 15a, 16-17a
For the angel said unto him, “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John. For he shall be great in the sight of the LORD. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the LORD their God. And he shall go before Him in the “spirit and power” of Elias [Elijah].”
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 5, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
2 Kings 2: 9, 15a
And it came to pass when they were gone over [the Jordan River], that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask, what shall I do for thee, before I be taken from thee.” And Elisha said, “I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” And he [Elijah] said, “Thou have asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken away from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.” And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him [Elisha], they said, “The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.”
NOTE: Why did Elijah say that what his pupil asked for was very difficult if it wasn’t something outside the natural human experience? I mean, Joshua took over leadership of the Israelites from Moses but the Scriptures do not say that he had the “spirit” of Moses, resulting in his great success and military victories.
2 Samuel 14: 14
For we must needs die, are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; yet God (Elohim) doth not take away the soul (nefesh) but devises means [‘Reincarnation’ or “Transmigration of souls”??], so that His banished be not expelled from Him. OJB
Ecclesiastes 1: 9-11
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? It hath been already of old time. There is no remembrance of former things, neither shall there be with those who come after any recollection (zikaron) of things that are to come.
Ecclesiastes 3: 15a
That which is hath been already; and that which is to be hath already been. . .
NOTE: Does this statement apply to inanimate objects “only” and not human souls as well? Even the apostle John referred to Jesus [Yeshua] with the designation ‘That’ as in the following, below:
1 John 1
“That” which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of Life.
Matthew 16: 13-14
When Jesus [Yeshua] came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am”? And they said, “Some say that thou art John the Baptizer; some Elias [Elijah]; and others, Jeremias [Jeremiah], or one of the prophets.”
NOTE: Did the Jews, including the disciples, believe that Jesus was one of the prophets from old times who God resurrected from the grave, or rather that the ‘spirit’ or power or personality of one of them resided in Him?
Matthew 17: 10-12
And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then say the scribes that Elias [Elijah] must first come?” And Jesus answered and said unto them, “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say to you, that Elias is come already; and they knew him not. . .”
Matthew 3: 1-3, 5
In those days came John the Baptizer, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken by the prophet Esaias [Elijah], saying, ‘THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’ ” Then went out to him all Jerusalem, and all Judea, and the entire region round about Jordan. And were baptized of him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
Luke 1: 13, 15a, 16-17a
For the angel said unto him, “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shall call his name John. For he shall be great in the sight of the LORD. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the LORD their God. And he shall go before Him in the “spirit and power” of Elias [Elijah].”
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 5, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The trouble in the Church at Corinth (Part 1)
Besides the usual salutatory greetings, the Apostle Paul gets right down to business. It seems that a church sister named Chloe reported to Paul that the congregation was splitting into several factions with members identifying with various preachers of the gospel. Some wanted to follow Paul, others Cephas, and another group Apollos; there were even some who rejected all of them or any human teacher and chose to follow only the voice of the LORD Jesus [Yeshua] Himself (Cp. 1 Corinthians 1: 10-13; 3: 3-6, 21-22; 4: 6). The record of Scripture is silent about Cephas [Peter] visiting the Corinthians but Apollos did, and on top of that, he was an excellent speaker (Cp. Acts 18: 24, 27-28; 19: 1). There were some in the assembly who were challenging Paul’s authority (Cp. 1 Corinthians 4: 18-21) as well as not disciplining a brother who was having sex with his father’s wife (1 Corinthians 5: 1-7).
In fact, the apostle wrote to them in an earlier letter [presumably lost], not to keep company with fornicators, especially those who are in the Church (Cp. 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13). The list of problems continues with Christians suing one another in Civil Court before unbelievers and the apostle remind them that believers are going to judge the angels and that it is a shame for them [us] not to be able to resolve matters of disagreement, or in some cases, to suffer injustice if such be the case (Cp. 1 Corinthians 6: 1-8). Believers are once again warned against committing the sin of “fornication” (1 Corinthians 6: 15-20). Some members had written to the apostle Paul for instructions regarding when one should marry, or give his virgin daughter in marriage, marriage to an unbeliever, as well as divorce/remarriage (1 Corinthians 7: 1-29, 32-40). Following that issue is using one’s liberty in Christ as a stumbling-block for others who are weak in the faith (1 Corinthians 8: 1-13). There were some in Corinth who questioned whether Paul was really an Apostle or that he was somehow inferior to the “original” ones (1 Corinthians 9: 1-2; 15: 7-10).
Eating a meal in which the meat was offered in a pagan ritual and sacrificed to an idol god is probably not such an issue for believers today, but there is still some disagreement in Christian circles around the points elaborated on by the Apostle Paul in this eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians. Should a woman have to wear a veil, hijab, scarf, burka or hat when praying, prophesying, or even speaking in tongues in the local assembly? Also, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man has long hair, it is a shame unto him (1 Corinthians 11: 14)?” Maybe he forgot about the “Nazarite” vow where a man was forbidden to shave his hair during this time of consecration (Cp. Numbers 6: 1-2, 5), and what about Absalom, King David’s son, who cut his hair only once a year and when he weighed it, it was five pounds; according to the royal standard (2 Samuel 14: 25-26). There were abuses while partaking of the Passover Feast which became the LORD’S Supper (“Eucharist”) such that believers became physically sick, and a few of them died because they failed to discern that this meal was in solemn memory and sacrifice of the LORD’S body on Calvary’s Cross (1 Corinthians 11: 17-34). The apostle Paul continues to focus on the theme of “divisions” among them, which must have been quite serious to mention it several times, again (Cp. 1 Corinthians 11: 18; 12: 25).
The urban or cosmopolitan Corinthian Christians were blessed with an abundance of spiritual gifts it seems but there was disorder and confusion as how, the purpose and when to manifest them (Cp. 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11, 25-30; 13: 1-8; esp. 14: 1-40). There were some believers in the Corinthian assembly who questioned the resurrection from the dead and what kind of body will it have, and Paul goes at length to explain and refute this growing heresy (Cp. 1 Corinthians 15: 12-55). Lastly, in this first letter the Apostle Paul is ordering the congregants to receive and submit to those fellow-laborers in the gospel of Jesus Christ [Yeshua Mashiach] that Paul sends to minister to their needs (Cp. 1 Corinthians 16: 10-12, 15-16).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 4, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
In fact, the apostle wrote to them in an earlier letter [presumably lost], not to keep company with fornicators, especially those who are in the Church (Cp. 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13). The list of problems continues with Christians suing one another in Civil Court before unbelievers and the apostle remind them that believers are going to judge the angels and that it is a shame for them [us] not to be able to resolve matters of disagreement, or in some cases, to suffer injustice if such be the case (Cp. 1 Corinthians 6: 1-8). Believers are once again warned against committing the sin of “fornication” (1 Corinthians 6: 15-20). Some members had written to the apostle Paul for instructions regarding when one should marry, or give his virgin daughter in marriage, marriage to an unbeliever, as well as divorce/remarriage (1 Corinthians 7: 1-29, 32-40). Following that issue is using one’s liberty in Christ as a stumbling-block for others who are weak in the faith (1 Corinthians 8: 1-13). There were some in Corinth who questioned whether Paul was really an Apostle or that he was somehow inferior to the “original” ones (1 Corinthians 9: 1-2; 15: 7-10).
Eating a meal in which the meat was offered in a pagan ritual and sacrificed to an idol god is probably not such an issue for believers today, but there is still some disagreement in Christian circles around the points elaborated on by the Apostle Paul in this eleventh chapter of 1 Corinthians. Should a woman have to wear a veil, hijab, scarf, burka or hat when praying, prophesying, or even speaking in tongues in the local assembly? Also, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man has long hair, it is a shame unto him (1 Corinthians 11: 14)?” Maybe he forgot about the “Nazarite” vow where a man was forbidden to shave his hair during this time of consecration (Cp. Numbers 6: 1-2, 5), and what about Absalom, King David’s son, who cut his hair only once a year and when he weighed it, it was five pounds; according to the royal standard (2 Samuel 14: 25-26). There were abuses while partaking of the Passover Feast which became the LORD’S Supper (“Eucharist”) such that believers became physically sick, and a few of them died because they failed to discern that this meal was in solemn memory and sacrifice of the LORD’S body on Calvary’s Cross (1 Corinthians 11: 17-34). The apostle Paul continues to focus on the theme of “divisions” among them, which must have been quite serious to mention it several times, again (Cp. 1 Corinthians 11: 18; 12: 25).
The urban or cosmopolitan Corinthian Christians were blessed with an abundance of spiritual gifts it seems but there was disorder and confusion as how, the purpose and when to manifest them (Cp. 1 Corinthians 12: 1-11, 25-30; 13: 1-8; esp. 14: 1-40). There were some believers in the Corinthian assembly who questioned the resurrection from the dead and what kind of body will it have, and Paul goes at length to explain and refute this growing heresy (Cp. 1 Corinthians 15: 12-55). Lastly, in this first letter the Apostle Paul is ordering the congregants to receive and submit to those fellow-laborers in the gospel of Jesus Christ [Yeshua Mashiach] that Paul sends to minister to their needs (Cp. 1 Corinthians 16: 10-12, 15-16).
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 4, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
What does the appearance of God look like?
It has been said that God made man in His own image and then subsequently, man turns around and makes God in his image. No matter how much some pious and devoted believers have been presumably "inspired" to create and fashion great works of Christian iconographic art as well as architectural wonders throughout the world, still does such human effort not violate the basic preamble to the Jewish Torah in Exodus [Shemot] chapter 20? Even so, almost all depictions of God the Father, the LORD Jesus Christ and the holy angels have European features; as illustrated by the European Anglo-Saxon Renaissance masters. Initially, though, Europeans worshipped "The Black Madonna and holy Babe," as was commonly placed in some of the oldest Cathedrals in Europe. Be that as it may, and it is not a point of argument and debate in this article but it seems that the Muslims have it right when they forbid any outward physical representations of God.
Exodus 24: 9-10; Ezekiel 1: 26-27
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, as it were the body of heaven in its clearness. And above the firmament ("rakia") that was over their [cherubim] heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. OJB
Revelation 1: 13-15a
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps
[Gr. mastos-"breasts"] with a golden girdle. His head and hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were a flame of fire. And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they [the feet] were burned in a furnace.
NOTE: Breasts, or “paps” are associated with the female, as in the following:
Luke 11: 27
And it came to pass, as He [Jesus] spake these things, a certain woman lifted up her voice, and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps [Gr. mastos-"breasts"] which thou hast sucked.
Matthew 17: 1-2a
After six days Jesus [Yeshua] took Peter, James and John (the brother of James) and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. Jesus' appearance changed in front of them. His face became as bright as the sun and His clothes as white as light.
Exodus 33: 20
And the LORD said, "Thou canst see My face; for there shall be no man who can see Me and live.
John 1: 18a; 5: 37b
No man hath seen God at any time. You have neither heard His voice (kol) at any time, nor seen His shape (mareh-"appearance"). OJB
Genesis 1: 26a
Then YHVH Elohim said, "Let Us make man (humankind) in Our image ("tzelem"), after Our likeness (demut)." OJB
NOTE: The word ("demut") translated as 'likeness' could also be used as appearance but that would be incorrect because Adam and Eve, subsequently all humans, do not have the physical 'appearance' of deity.
Exodus 20: 4a
Thou shalt not make unto thee any "pesel" (idol or image), or any temunah (form, resemblance, likeness or representation) of any thing that is in Heaven. . . OJB
NOTE: God did not use the word 'tzelem' as in Genesis 1: 26a for image, but the word 'pesel,' because no human has seen the invisible God.
Philippians 2: 6a
Who [Christ Jesus], though existing in the likeness (demut) of the mode of 'being' ("etzem"-substance, body or bone) of JHVH Elohim (God). . . OJB
NOTE: Besides the Hebrew word "eztem" there is the Greek "morphe" which means shape, nature or form.
Colossians 1: 15a
Who [Christ Jesus] is the likeness (demut) of the invisible God. . . OJB
NOTE: Only Jesus Christ [Yeshua Mashiach] bears the "demut" (likeness, image and appearance of God the Father. The Greek words "Eiko" means copy or resemblance; and "Eikon" means likeness, profle, representaton, resemblance or image.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
February 11, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Exodus 24: 9-10; Ezekiel 1: 26-27
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. And they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, as it were the body of heaven in its clearness. And above the firmament ("rakia") that was over their [cherubim] heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. OJB
Revelation 1: 13-15a
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps
[Gr. mastos-"breasts"] with a golden girdle. His head and hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were a flame of fire. And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they [the feet] were burned in a furnace.
NOTE: Breasts, or “paps” are associated with the female, as in the following:
Luke 11: 27
And it came to pass, as He [Jesus] spake these things, a certain woman lifted up her voice, and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps [Gr. mastos-"breasts"] which thou hast sucked.
Matthew 17: 1-2a
After six days Jesus [Yeshua] took Peter, James and John (the brother of James) and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. Jesus' appearance changed in front of them. His face became as bright as the sun and His clothes as white as light.
Exodus 33: 20
And the LORD said, "Thou canst see My face; for there shall be no man who can see Me and live.
John 1: 18a; 5: 37b
No man hath seen God at any time. You have neither heard His voice (kol) at any time, nor seen His shape (mareh-"appearance"). OJB
Genesis 1: 26a
Then YHVH Elohim said, "Let Us make man (humankind) in Our image ("tzelem"), after Our likeness (demut)." OJB
NOTE: The word ("demut") translated as 'likeness' could also be used as appearance but that would be incorrect because Adam and Eve, subsequently all humans, do not have the physical 'appearance' of deity.
Exodus 20: 4a
Thou shalt not make unto thee any "pesel" (idol or image), or any temunah (form, resemblance, likeness or representation) of any thing that is in Heaven. . . OJB
NOTE: God did not use the word 'tzelem' as in Genesis 1: 26a for image, but the word 'pesel,' because no human has seen the invisible God.
Philippians 2: 6a
Who [Christ Jesus], though existing in the likeness (demut) of the mode of 'being' ("etzem"-substance, body or bone) of JHVH Elohim (God). . . OJB
NOTE: Besides the Hebrew word "eztem" there is the Greek "morphe" which means shape, nature or form.
Colossians 1: 15a
Who [Christ Jesus] is the likeness (demut) of the invisible God. . . OJB
NOTE: Only Jesus Christ [Yeshua Mashiach] bears the "demut" (likeness, image and appearance of God the Father. The Greek words "Eiko" means copy or resemblance; and "Eikon" means likeness, profle, representaton, resemblance or image.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
February 11, 2012
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
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