This is a conversation I had with a World Mission Society Church of God prospective member. She is currently dong bible studies with them but has not fully committed to being a member. She said they believe in the female image of God (gen.1:26), rev.22:17.. They say that if there is god the father, why isnt there god the mother... (gal 4:26) Me: Lets examine this. Them:Theres a lot of bible verses... Passover, sabbath, tithing and more.. That the word God in the original text of the bible(Hebrew ) was stated as elohim( plural form of el or eloah).. Me: Genesis 1:26-27 NIV - 26 Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the....... This text does not prove that there is a mother God but it does seem to indicate plurality (more than one) is present when this was spoken. There are 3 open options to this 1) Mother and Father God 2) Father Son and Holy Spirit 3) Father speaking to the Angels 4) Majestic Plural (special case where a singular being is plural only to indicate the greatness of the being) I personally go with 2 or 3. 2 is obvious. 2) Spirit Created= The Hebrew word for “Spirit” is often translated as “wind” or “breath” in the Old Testament. The same word is found in Psalm 33:6, where we again catch a glimpse of the Spirit’s work in creation: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath [Spirit] of His mouth.” Genesis 1:2, Job 26:13... Son Created = John 1:1 Colossians Father Created= Isaiah 64:8 3) Angels may have played a part Consider this info interpretations of the words “us” and “our” in Genesis 1.26 are as follows: (1) most Jews have interpreted them as God’s communication to a special group of angels who gather around God’s heavenly throne and constitute his royal court or council; (2) post-Nicene church fathers understood God the Father to be speaking to the other two members of the Trinity; (3) many commentators have regarded these words as a plural of majesty, which allows for Trinitarian belief but does not necessitate it; (4) God’s addresses himself. How one interprets this text usually determines how one treats the others, so that all three passages are interpreted the same. The “Us” in Genesis 1.26 cannot be the supposed other two members of the Trinity because it says God made man in his image. If God is a Trinity of Persons, then man, being made in God’s image, would have to be tri-personal as well. Since man is a uni- personal being, God must be a uni-personal being. The closest man ever comes to being tri-personal is schizophrenia, a mental disorder which does not reflect God. The word translated “God” in the Hebrew Bible is elohim, the plural of eloah. Elohim is often shortened to the proper name El. Elohim occurs about 2,570 times in the OT, either as a common noun or as a divine name. Most past Trinitarians insisted that elohim, being plural, indicates that God subsists as a plurality of persons. Jewish and many contemporary Christian scholars disagree. They contend the plural word elohim merely indicates intensity, expressing the dignity or greatness of God. Jack B. Scott says most scholars insist that this “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 singular.” Then he cites antiquities authority William F. Albright, who claims that this plural of majesty was used commonly in the ancient Near East to express the “totality of manifestations of a deity.” Trinitarian F.F. Bruce says elohim is “a plural denoting God as including within Himself all the powers of deity.” Besides, how could the most frequent word for God (except YHWH) in the Hebrew Bible accommodate a Gentile notion that God is three persons? That contradicts strict monotheism. And it seems presumptuous of Gentiles to tell Jews what Hebrew words mean. Few church fathers knew Hebrew, and their theology suffered from it. Scripture attests that the Most High God meets regularly with a court of angelic advisors. The psalmist tells of “the assembly of the holy ones,” describing Yahweh as “a God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all those who are around Him” (Ps 89.5, 7). Job twice says of some angels, “the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD” to give an account of their activities (Job 1.6; 2.1). This hierarchy of delegated responsibility is like human government. Since God regularly appoints angels to accomplish his will, perhaps he also involved them in creation. The Jewish Talmud states concerning God, “the Holy One, blessed be he, does nothing without consulting his heavenly court.” And the famed Sir Isaac Newton explained, “God does nothing by himself which he can do by another.” Donald Gowan similarly remarks concerning Genesis 1.26 and 3.22: There is no support in the OT for most of the proposed explanations: the royal “we,” the deliberative “we,” the plural of fullness, or an indication of a plurality of persons in the Godhead…. The only theory that uses the language of the OT itself is that which claims God is here addressing the heavenly court, as in Isa 6:8. That God was believed to consult with spiritual creatures in heaven is revealed by the scenes described in 1 Kgs. 22:19-22 and Job 1:6–2:6. Hence the consultative “we” has support from other texts, and it fits both the Gen. 1:26-27 and 3:22 on the assumption that Israel believed there were creatures in the heavenly realm (“the host of heaven,” 1 Kgs. 22:19) whose identity had something in common both with God and with human beings. The familiar objection that angels could not have participated in creation is a theological judgment about what is possible in heaven. So, those to whom God spoke the words “us” and “our”—in Genesis 1.26, 3.22, and 11.2—probably were a special class of angels. Perhaps they were members of his royal council or “the seven spirits of God,” that is, “the seven angels who stand before God” (Revelation 1.4; 8.2), who probably are seven archangels. Regardless, the book of Genesis has no substantial evidence that they were two members of a supposed Trinity. Trinitarian Murray Harris states, “It would be inappropriate for elohim [God] or yhwh [Yahweh] ever to refer to the Trinity in the OT when in the NT theos regularly refers to the Father alone and apparently never to the Trinity.” I will let you ask questions at this point before we continue and go over Revelations 22:17 and Galatians 4:26 Them: How about the Galatians 4:26 but the Jerusalem that is above and she is our mother..? They used this also.. The church forbids us to use fb or the internet because they said this might slander us... Me: Before we go to Gal 4:26, let me finish with Gen 1:26. Look at the following verse, Genesis 1:27 NIV - 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Notice it says God created in HIS image. HE created them. God is definitely, predominantly singular. If God was plural every single time you would see Us and We being used more often. Gal 4:26 needs to be read in context. Look at the previous verses... Galatians 4:24 NIV - 24 These things are being taken FIGURATIVELY: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar... This verse notes that what is explained is being used figuratively meaning that it is not to be taken literally but as an example/metaphor used. Jerusalem is not a physical being/mother. Feel free to ask any questions. Them: Thank you so much.. Me: No problem. If there were a mother God trust me I think the scriptures would mention it more than one time. No one.. no prophet, priest, apostle, nor Messiah ever referred to Mother God ever. I keep the Sabbath and the biblical feast of the scriptures. I do not celebrate Easter Christmas and other worldy holidays. WMSCOG has the Sabbath idea almost right. We keep Sabbath from friday night sundown to Sabbath Sundown. Evening to Evening is the biblical way. I left Christianity in 2011 in search of the true biblical faith in Messiah and Commandments of God. The true Hebrew name of our Messiah (Christ) is Yahushuwah not Jesus. The true Hebrew name of the Father is Yahuwah not LORD. If you share this with WMSCOG leaders let me know what their response is Them: I will try to discuss it with them... Me: It will be difficult but keep me posted. Consider me a helper in critical thinking. Take notes Them: No problem..
Posted on: Sat, 12 Jul 2014 15:44:08 +0000
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