FAQ Bible Study Old TestamentPage 1
Christian Churches of God
No. 57
FAQ Bible Study
Old Testament
(Edition 1.1 20000630-20011124)
Frequently Asked Questions on Old Testament texts are listed herein. All answers are predicated on the premise that God exists and that the Bible is the inspired word of God as revealed to His servants the Prophets.
Christian Churches of God
PO Box 369, WODEN ACT 2606, AUSTRALIA
E-mail:
(Copyright 2000, 2001 Wade Cox)
This paper may be freely copied and distributed provided it is copied in total with no alterations or deletions. The publisher’s name and address and the copyright notice must be included. No charge may be levied on recipients of distributed copies. Brief quotations may be embodied in critical articles and reviews without breaching copyright.
This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
and
Contents
FAQ Bible Study Old TestamentPage 1
One True God:
God exist-Why is God eternal-Many names for God-Which name, which entity-Elohim/Eloah-Elohim plural-How many elohim-Jehovah/Jehovah of Hosts-SHD 3068/3069-Two different beings-God look on sin-God and His Law
Spiritual Creation:
Angel of YHVH: Is Christ YHVH-Worship the son-Great Angel OT-Who spoke to Abraham-Who did Moses see-Who talked to Moses and Aaron
Sons of God: How many sons of God-Difference in heavenly beings-24 Thrones/Elders-4 living creatures-4 rivers/4 Cherubim-Lion headed systems-Who are the host-Cause of rebellion-Cherub rebel-Rebellion-Fallen host repent-Angels male or female Lucifer:Meaning of Lucifer-Satan still has access to God-Satan not always evil-Abaddon/Apollyon Angels: Function of angels-Can we recognise angels-Pray to angels
Physical Creation:
Nephilim: Humans before Adam-Pre/post Adam DNA-Nephilim not resurrected Adam and Eve: Why create man-Mankind’s destiny-Adam rebuke Eve-Life before Adam-Children’s stories-Apple forbidden fruit-Different races-Vegetables or meat first-Physical condition early people Noah: Origin or faces from Noah-Flood worldwide-Noah’s faith Abraham: Blessings for Hagar/Ishmael
The Law:
Two tablets of stone-6 and 4 or 5 and 5-First Commandment-Sabbath-Reading the law Society: Uncleanness until sundown-Not coming near wives-Childbirth-Garments etc-Swearing-Violence on innocent-Death penalty-Tattoos-Owe no man-Gambling Food Laws: Mushrooms-Supplements-Pork and fish-Eating meat-Food and ten commandments Tithes and Offerings: 3 or 7 offerings-Atonement tax-Stealing from God
Israel:
12 Judges-Kings-Numbering of tribes-Order of tribes-Moses: Broken tablets-Wife and children-Hosts of Pharaoh-Red sea-Seven-day march-Fall of Jericho- Red cords-Blood on doorposts-Idols and Images:Golden idol-Why a calf-Worship of images-Golden calf/golden cross-Divisions of Israel
Joshua…Joshua’s life-12 rocks/12 apostles-2 spies
Judges…Judges 9:7-21;-Judges 19-Gideon 70 sons-Samson’s hair-Riddle to 30
Ruth…Ruth’s kinsman
1Samuel…1Samuel 1:6-17:40-David
1Kings…1Kings chapter 6
2Kings…2Kings chapter 2
Esther…Esther 9:13 Nuremburg Trials
Job…7 sons 3 daughters-Job of Genesis 46:13
Psalms…Psalm 82-Psalm 187
Proverbs…Proverbs8 and 9-Proverbs 31
Ecclesiastes…Ecclesiastes 7:1-Birthdays
Prophets:
Isaiah…Isaiah 19:23-Isaiah 65:1-6-Isaiah 1:29
Jeremiah…Jeremiah4:15ff
Ezekiel…Ezekiel 46:20;-26:21;-Exekiel’s Temple-Ezekiel 20:37-38
Daniel…Daniel 12:1-2;-2:43;-7:9-10;-Daniel and 3 in oven-Lion’s den
Hosea…Hosea 2:15
Joel…Joel 2:23
Micah…Micah 6:4;-5:5
Zechariah…Zecariah 14:16-19
God’s Calendar:
Full moon-Time lost-Number 7-Jubilees: What is a Jubilee-How to count-Blown on Atonement-5 months in 50th or 1st year-End of Jubilee Feasts: Where does he place his name-Assemblies of God-Fat of the Feast-Pentecost: Shavuot-Trumpets: Trumpets blown-Feast of Shofar-New Year-Atonement: Meaning-Tribute tax-Half Shekel
***********************************
FAQ Old Testament
One True God
Why do you believe that God exists?
A: It is written only a fool says in his heart that there is no God. The entire structure of the creation demands that God exist: From the Laws of Thermodynamics to the phase space volume selection of the universe and Quantum Mechanical theory. The philosophical basis of Causation is singularist and not supervenient. Why would you think that there is no God?
Why do you think God is eternal? The fact that God created us should not mean that God never dies. Maybe your God just had special power to create the whole world and maybe His life has just been very long, of years old.
A: God stands outside of time and space. The Bible is very clear that there is only One True God, whom no man has ever seen or ever can see (John 1:18), and who dwells in unapproachable light and who alone is immortal (1Tim. 6:16).
We know this to be true as the phrase “space volume selection of the universe” is held to be a factor of ten to the tenth, to the 123rd power. It cannot be written in normal denary notation, even if the entire substructure of matter in the universe were to be used. In other words, there is a point of origin, and only one for the entire universe.
We now know from the general theory of relativity and subsequent quantum mechanical theory and its adaptations that a substructure, which we call “quarks”, underpins the basis of matter.
We know from the decay of “K Mesons” that there is directionality to time. We know that the structure of matter in the universe is a directional structure in which Space, Time Mass, Energy and Gravity are equivalent expressions of a single fundamental essence, and that essence we call spirit. The Bible is understood to teach us that God creates it “ex nihilo” or “out of nothing”. This was also the doctrine of the Shepherd of Hermas, the earliest of the writings not now included in the New Testament.
God created the entire spiritual realm, and then he created the physical. This is examined in the papers How God Became a Family (No. 187) and The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160). The structure of the creation and the logical necessity of Singularist Causation and the impossibility of Absolute Creation in the work is shown in Creation: From Anthropomorphic Theology to Theomorphic Anthropology (No. B5).
I see in my concordance that there are multiple words in Hebrew that are translated as “God.” Do they all mean the same thing? Why do the Hebrews have so many words for God?
A:No, they don’t all mean the same thing.The various names for God are a function of His activity in the creation. Also, beings carry the name “God” and “Yahovah” when they act for the one true God. The name of God in the singular is “Eloah.” “Elohim” is a plural name, which can be used of singular beings.
In the same way “Yahovah” is used of multiple beings of the angelic host including Christ, but “Yahovih” is not so used. “Yahovih” is “Yahovah of Hosts” who is the “Most High” or the “Elyon.” The term “I am that I am” is a corruption of this idea. The text is “ ‘eyeh ‘asher ‘eyeh” or “I will be what I will become.” The term, “Yahovah” is “He causes to be” as a third person form (see fn. to Exodus 3:14 in the Oxford Annotated RSV). The names of God in the various forms are covered in the texts The Names of God (No. 116)andThe Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243).
I am confused as to the different names given in the Bible for God. I have read your papers and all makes sense, but it does not tell which name is for which entity. For example, how do you know in Genesis 1:1 that this Elohim is the One True God in the Spirit? In verse 26 it states, “Let us make man in our own image...” That sounds like the plural Elohim and not the One True God. Then I look at 2:4 and on and it states, “YHVH Elohim.” Who is the Elohim in 1:1 and who is YHVH Elohim in 2:4 and how do you know how to distinguish between them? It does say in 2:4 that YHVH Elohim created the Heavens and the Earth. Were they created by YHVH Elohim through His Elohim(s)?
A: Yes, this is a very important question. We have this basic rule. No man has ever seen God, neither heard His voice, nor seen His form (Jn. 1:18). We have this from the mouth of Christ and reinforced by John and Paul. Thus, the beings that are referred to in the Bible as Elohim who were seen or touched were sons of God and not the One True God. This One True God dwells in unapproachable light and no man has seen Him or ever can see Him. All that was experienced by man was delivered by the Great Angel of the Old Testament, who gave the Law to Moses and who became Jesus Christ, or those other sons of God who worked with him and who also bore the name of God. Look at the papers The Names of God (No. 116)andThe Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243). The One True God, Eloah has created all things by His will and all beings act under His will.
Am I to conclude that we do not know which elohim it is referring to in Genesis 1:1 and it really does not matter because all the Elohim are acting under the direction of Eloah? Do you think it is the sons of Eloah it is referring to because of the plural used in verse 26? So everything was created through the Elohim for Eloah?
A: The word God in Genesis 1:1 refers to Eloah and the first act of creation already completed, which was the extension of Himself as Elohim. Thus, the extended being is Elohim and He creates as Elohim because it involves multiple beings.
Job 38:4-7 shows the concept. He created and the sons of God were gathered together and the Morning Stars sang for joy at the creation of the earth. Thus, all were elohim under the One True God (cf. Jn. 17:3). It is irrelevant who was allocated tasks from the primary creation, which was the generation of the elohim from Eloah. Look at the papers How God Became a Family (No. 187)andThe Government of God (No. 174).
Could you explain and define the Hebrew word for God, “Elohim”? Isn’t this a plural word? Arewe to understand that it encompasses the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
A: The Hebrew word “Elohim” is a plural word meaning both “God;” and “Gods” plural, depending on its use. The singular word for God is “Eloah.” This is “Elahh” in Chaldean. The plural word for God in Chaldean is “Elahhin’” which is the same meaning as Elohim. “The God” is referred to as “Ha Elohim.” The Arabic came from the eastern Aramaic or Chaldean and that is why the Arabic word for God in the singular is “Allah'.” Elohim extends to cover all the sons of God as a council of elohim and a body of spirit beings. The Bible refers to the elohim as a plurality and elohim is rendered as “aggelos” in Greek and “angels” in English. For example, Psalm 8:5 says of Messiah that “Thou hast made him a little lower than the elohim.” This is translated in the English of the KJV as “angels” from the rendering in the Septuagint (LXX) as “aggelos”. The same is true in the Vulgate, and the Syriac. Thus, it was generally understood for three hundred years before and after Christ that the “elohim” were the “sons of God” who were termed “messengers” or “angels.” This text is also rendered “angels” in Hebrews 2:7. The Angel of the Old Testament is also an elohim. Psalm 97:7 also refers to the elohim as a wider council of elohim. It is a very important and interesting point, which is obscured by the Trinitarian system (see the paper Psalm 8 (No. 14)). The Trinity is a pagan system of the Triune God, which was introduced from Rome in the fourth century. Look also at the papers The Elect as Elohim (No. 1);The Angel of YHVH (No. 24); The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243);Creation: From Anthropomorphic Theology to Theomorphic Anthropology (No. B5)and The Soctratic Doctrine of the Soul (No. B6).
In Genesis 1:26 it says man was created in the image of Elohim. In 2:7 it says that YHVH Elohim formed man of the dust. In Revelation 21:17 it refers to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. It seems to me that it is talking about two different men and maybe two different Gods. Are the words in the ancient text for man in all the places that I referenced the same word? Are we talking about the same beings?
A: The Bible does speak of various elohim. The elohim are a council, as we know from the Psalms and elsewhere. The text in Revelation speaks of the measure of a man as the measure of an angel, and that tells you that we are all brethren and made in the image of God. This aspect also has ramifications about the angelic host. We are all to become brothers and part of the City of God where God is all in all. Look at the paper The City of God (No. 180).
Are Jehovah and Jehovah of Hosts one and the same, or are we talking about different beings?
A: We are talking about different beings. Yahovah or Jehovah in English (there is no J in Hebrew) was allotted Israel as his possession by the Most High (Deut. 32:8 esp. RSV). The Most High or “Elyon” is Yahovah of Hosts. All beings who act for Yahovah of Hosts have the title, “Yahovah.” Christ was the key figure in the Old Testament as the Great Angel of Yahovah who had this title, but there were others. In Genesis, chapters 18 and 19, we see three Yahovahs who came to see Abraham. The senior remained with Abraham and the other two went on to Lot at Sodom.
They destroyed Sodom by calling down fire from Yahovah in Heaven. Thus there were four there and the One in Heaven who sent the fire down on Sodom. That One is Yahovah of Hosts. He sent Messiah to the world as the giver of the Law and as the protector of Israel. Look also at the papers The Names of God (No. 116);The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); The Angel of YHVH (No. 24)andEarly Theology of the Godhead (No. 127). The creation had a purpose and Christ had a role in the creation given to him by “Yahovah of Hosts” who is “Yahovih” (cf. The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160)).
In your writings you make a distinction between Yahovah (SHD 3068) and Yahovih (SHD 3069). You state that Yahovih (3069) is superior to Yahovah (3068). It is my understanding that the original script is just the Tetragrammaton that is translated YHVH with no vowels. If I am correct, how did the translators come up with 2 different versions of the word and make one superior to the other when they both were YHVH?
A: The Hebrew Text has preserved these distinctions. The alteration by the Sopherim of “Yahovah” to “Adonai” is a basis for the vowel point argument from Adonai. Look at the comments in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary for 3068 and 3069. You will see there the distinctions. 3068 is read as “Adonai” and 3069 is read as “elohim.”
I was reading the paper Law and the Second Commandment (No. 254) and in Deuteronomy 11:17 ‘Lord’ is referenced both ways in the same verse. Is this a misprint or are we talking about 2 different beings? If so please explain the difference. Also explain 2Corinthians 6:17-18.
A: The word translated “Lord” in the text is “Yahovah” (SHD 3068) (cf. Green’s Interlinear Bible). The Septuagint makes no distinction in the use of “Kurios,” and it is also translated the same way.
In 2Corinthians 6:17-18, it is speaking of the “Lord Almighty” and there is no distinction. There is a distinction between the entities, as in Zechariah 2:8-11. The “Yahovah” sent to save Israel and Jerusalem is sent by “Yahovah of Hosts.” This is the distinction in Psalm 45:6-7 and seen in Hebrews 1:8-9 as “Messiah.”
Can God look on sin? I heard a sermon where the minister said “God can’t look on sin, that’s why Christ said ‘my God, my God, why have you forsaken me’ as he bore the sins of the world.” Is this true?
A:Yes, God can look on sin but we ask Him not to (Ps. 51:9ff.; Isa. 59:2).
That statement is a myth spread by people who have never read the Psalms properly. The text spoken by Christ was an Aramaic form of the Hebrew in Psalm 22:1. In Psalm 22:24 we read that God did not hide his face from him.
The events in Psalm 22 all refer to Christ and his actual crucifixion. Verse 24 says:
“For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither has He hid His face from him; But when he cried unto Him, He heard.”
This fiction is designed to deal with the concept of the reparation for sin without real understanding or acknowledging the Wave Sheaf offering and the true concepts of the Passover. Because they do not obey God’s laws and kept pagan systems, they do not understand Scripture and the Laws of God. The matter of the crucifixion and the aspects of Psalm 22 are examined in the papers on the web at and