Menorahs of the Scriptures

Menorahs of The Scriptures

Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; & Hebrews 1:1-3

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
Genesis 1:1

Forms a Menorah

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית- bereshit - In the beginning

בָּרָ֣א- barah - created

אֱלֹהִ֑ים- Elohim - God

אֵ֥ת- aleph/tahv - eht - not translated. It is in the place of the Servant Candle; the Shamash. Has the first & last letters of the Hebrew aleph-beit. Corresponds to the Greekletters Alpha & Omega (cf. Rev. 1:8, 11, 13, 17; 21:6; 22:13).

הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם- hashamayim - the heavens

וְאֵ֥ת- vaeht - and

הָאָֽרֶץ׃- haeretz - the earth

Rabbinic scholars called the alephtahv "the Word of creation."Rabbinical teaching was that this characterized God's creative power. Cf. John 1:1-3. In Revelation, our Lord Jesus Christ is claiming to be in the position of "the Word of creation" shown in Gen. 1:1.

In Hebrews 1:2, 3, we see that not only did the Son create all things, but is also the energy of continuance. His constant activity holds the creation together.

John - deals with the 1st Advent.
I, II, II John - deal with relationship & how to function in the Church Age.
Revelation - deals with the 2nd Advent.

John 1:1 -

"In the beginning" - en archē - "In a beginning that was not a beginning" - Way back when!
Aristotle kind of stalled out on archē- came up with "unmoved mover."
Descartes - have to start over with infinity. Can't discover self otherwise - then, "I think, therefore I am!"
Only God's Word can find true reality.
Deals with from eternity to time to eternity.
John was a simple fisherman, yet "en archē!" The Grace of God!
"Was" - ēn - imperfect, active, indicative (continuous action in past time, with results than continue into the present & future) of eimi (AM - to be; to exist; to be present) (cf. egōeimi of 8:58).
Status quo verb - always existed; eternal existence.
Another word for "was" is ginomai - to become something that you were not before; to come into being. Used of Abraham in 8:58 (same verse as egōeimi for Christ).
"eimi" shows Deity, & is used in vs. 1, 2, 4, 9, 10; shows Omnipotence; Omnipresence; Omniscience; Righteousness; Justice; Holiness; Sovereignty.
Jehovah's Witnesses have really messed up their translation of these verses.
"The Word" hōlogos - used in relation to Christ in John 1:1, 14; I John 1:1; Rev. 19:13.
In Greek thought logos was used to designate the creative force in nature; the unknown mediator between God & the universe; the prime mover; infinity.
In Hebrew thought this was designated "The Wisdom of God;" "The Angel of The Lord."
Wisdom - the essence of the mind.
Angel - messenger; the manifestation of the essence of that mind.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the revelation of the essence of the mind/soul of God - He was a manifestation of the invisible God. Cf. Heb. 1:1-3 & Col. 1:15-19.
Vs. 8 & 9 - He was the Light. Light is made up of 3 components -
Actinic - God the Father - neither seen nor felt.
Luminiferous - God the Son - the component of light that can be seen.
Calorific - God the Holy Spirit - felt but not seen.
Together, they is God! God is Light (I John 1:5).
The Prism of the Virgin Birth -
"Was" - see above.
"With" - pros - face-to-face. Denotes the most intimate communion (cf. Jn. 17:5).
The final "God" (theos) in vs. 1 is a predicate; a subject complement -
A subject complement is an equivalent word in a sentence that identifies or describes the subject. Linking verbs are verbs of existence or sensation. Subject complements are not affected by the action of the verb, and they describe or explain the subject.

John 1:2 -

"This one was in the beginning with the God."
"in the beginning" - en archē - "In a beginning that was not a beginning."
"Was" - ēn - imperfect, active, indicative (continuous action in past time, with results than continue into the present & future) of eimi.
"With" - pros - face-to-face. Denotes the most intimate communion.
"God" - the definite article is not translated. In this case, the definite article is used to point out particular identity (the articular use).

John 1:3 -

1st "made" - aor. mid. ind. of ginomai (G1096) - to become something that you were not before; to come into being.
2nd "made" - same as 1st.
3rd "made" - perf. act. ind. of ginomai (G1096) (completed action with finished results in present time).

John 1:14 -

Up to this point we have been dealing with eimi (His Deity) - now we switch to the Incarnation.
"made" aor. mid. ind. of ginomai (G1096) - the English has no middle voice - the middle voice in the Greek describes the subject as participating in the results of the action. He choose to be made - it was a voluntary act on His part.
Ginomai means that He came into a new state of existence which He wasn't before, and in this case, without ceasing to be what He was before (cf. Micah 5:2 & Judges 2:1 Scofield note on the Angel of the Lord). See also Jn. 8:58 & I Cor. 10:4).
Kosmos always wants to keep Him as a baby - but He became a baby & grew to a man - a man who was born in the shadow of the Cross.
"glory" - doxa (G1391) - splendor; brightness; majesty; greatness; superiority (cf. Matt. 17:1-5).
Heb. 1 deals with the Glories of Christ -

Hebrews 1 - The Glories (or, Greatnesses) of The Person of Christ -

Heb. 1:1 -

"God" lit. "the God" (see note above for use of the definite article).
There are 2 concepts to deal with here -
1) Essence (S-R-J-L-EL-O-O-O-I-V) - God is one (Deut. 6:4).
2) Personality - God is 3 persons.

7 Glories (Greatnesses) of Christ -

Heb. 1:2 -

1)He is Greater than the Prophets - the absence of the definite article before "Son" emphasizes His character (Deity) contrasted to the Prophets (human) (mouthpieces) - Revelation was not only in what He said, but in what He was (cf. Jn. 14:9).
Now God only speaks one way - through Jesus Christ as presented in the completed canon of Scripture.
In the Old Testament, each generation needed a fresh voice - now all truth is set forth in Christ - the Old Testament was just a shadow.
The source of both Testaments is still "The God" - all revelation focuses on Christ.

2)He is Heir of all things - goes to eternity past (aorist - once & for all appointed).
A. Heirship comes through Sonship - we are sons by:
1. Adoption - Gal. 4:4, 5.
2. Regeneration (born again - not church membership, etc.) - Gal. 3:26; Jn. 1:12; 3:3, 15.
We are heirs (Heb. 1:14; Rom. 8:17; I Pet. 1:4, 5) through Union with Christ (I Cor. 12:13 - Holy Spirit Baptism).
Christianity isn't a religion - it is a relationship.
B. Heirship is based upon the death of another.

3)He Blueprinted the ages - not creation, but dispensations (cf. 11:3).
Christ is the focal point of every age - each age demonstrates that the only solution to man's problems is Christ (not perfect environment, etc.).

Heb. 1:3 -

4)He is the Outshining of God's Glory (the Essence of God) ("brightness" - radiant splendor) (the light shining through the prism of the Virgin Birth) (Rainbow illustrates the promises of God - over 7,000 for us to use in time).
All we know about the Godhead, we know only through the person of Jesus Christ.
He is the Revealer of God's character - the expression of the nature or essence of Deity (S-R-J-L-EL-O-O-O-I-V).
He gave up the independent exercise of these attributes - Phil. 2:7.

5)He is the Sustainer of the Universe - "upholding" pres. act. ind. of pherō - maintaining. Cf. Is. 40:12, 26; Col. 1:15-19.

6)He is the Redeemer of Mankind - the greatness of God becoming man. He humbled Himself because He loved us. Rom. 5:8; 8:1; II Cor. 5:21.

7)His humanity has been Glorified - He is seated at the right hand of the Father. The seated posture shows His work of redemption was finished, in contrast to the Levitical priests. He still does work - as our advocate.