Embark on a profound exploration of the theological enigma of the Logos in John 1:1, where we unravel the intricate connection between the Word and the cosmos. Prepare to have your understanding of divine expression transformed as we dissect the dual nature of the Logos, both as an intrinsic aspect of God and the ultimate articulation to mankind. Through the lens of Greek philosophy meshed with Christian theology, we illuminate how this concept served as a beacon, guiding early Gentile believers in bridging their cultural and religious divides. Our narrative is enriched by the insights of William Branham, whose interpretation of the Logos as the full manifestation of God's attributes—rather than a separate entity within the Godhead—enhances our comprehension of the divine presence in the church and its followers, particularly after the Pentecost.
Venturing further into the mystery of Jesus Christ's incarnation and theophany, prepare to be captivated by the proposition that Jesus, in his divine essence, navigated his theophany with intention, existing within it from the inception. Through an intriguing hypothesis, we entertain the idea of Jesus' physical pre-birth manifestation as Melchizedek, weaving a complex tapestry of divine forms and foreshadowing the birth from Mary. The climactic moment of Jesus' baptism, where the totality of the Logos descended upon him, casts a revelatory light on the divine intricacies that have shaped historical understanding of his nature. Join us as we venture through the teachings that define Jesus' divine life and theophany, stirring a renewed sense of awe in the light and revelation of this teaching.
Embark on a profound exploration of the theological enigma of the Logos in John 1:1, where we unravel the intricate connection between the Word and the cosmos. Prepare to have your understanding of divine expression transformed as we dissect the dual nature of the Logos, both as an intrinsic aspect of God and the ultimate articulation to mankind. Through the lens of Greek philosophy meshed with Christian theology, we illuminate how this concept served as a beacon, guiding early Gentile believers in bridging their cultural and religious divides. Our narrative is enriched by the insights of William Branham, whose interpretation of the Logos as the full manifestation of God's attributes—rather than a separate entity within the Godhead—enhances our comprehension of the divine presence in the church and its followers, particularly after the Pentecost.
Venturing further into the mystery of Jesus Christ's incarnation and theophany, prepare to be captivated by the proposition that Jesus, in his divine essence, navigated his theophany with intention, existing within it from the inception. Through an intriguing hypothesis, we entertain the idea of Jesus' physical pre-birth manifestation as Melchizedek, weaving a complex tapestry of divine forms and foreshadowing the birth from Mary. The climactic moment of Jesus' baptism, where the totality of the Logos descended upon him, casts a revelatory light on the divine intricacies that have shaped historical understanding of his nature. Join us as we venture through the teachings that define Jesus' divine life and theophany, stirring a renewed sense of awe in the light and revelation of this teaching.
Speaker 1:
The Logos of John 1.1 In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. John 1.1 Word in Greek is Logos, meaning a thought expressed. The strongest concordant states that Logos means something said, including the thought. By implication, a topic, subject of discourse, also reasoning, the mental faculty or motive. By extension, a computation. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us Logos Greek word, reason or plan, plural logoi In Greek philosophy and theology, the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning.
Speaker 1:
John was writing his gospel at a time when the Lord had turned from the Jews and began dealing with the Gentiles. They were immersed in the thought world of Greek philosophy. Thus John is bringing the gap between Jewish thought and Greek thought To the average Gentile. Reading John 1.1, it would have conjured up all kinds of thoughts regarding their upbringing and the philosophy of their day. To put it in the most basic terms, they viewed Logos as the principal agent in creation and sustaining the universe. They viewed Logos as the divine principal mediating between the seen and unseen world. When they read that Logos was in the beginning with God and actually was God, they clearly understood that God created and sustains all things by His word reason or plan. When I speak of reason in this sense, I speak of it in the sense of logic. The word logic comes from the word Logos. Let's break it down even more fully In whom also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will, ephesians 1.11. God counseled with Himself before creation. Notice the singular personal pronouns he works all things after the counsel of His own will. That means that he is completely and totally sovereign in His choices and actions. This was God developing His plan for creation, history, time, salvation, etc.
Speaker 1:
Remember, logos means the expression and includes the thought behind that expression. First, the Logos is in thought form. In this stage you can say the Logos was contained within God. Then, when the expression of that thought comes, we can say that the Logos goes forth from God. So there are two stages to the Logos it is in God and second, it is expressed and issued forth from God. For eternity the Logos was in God as His thoughts and then, just prior to creation, the Logos went out of God as His self-expression or self-revelation.
Speaker 1:
Notice what brother William Branham, the 7th church-age messenger, states regarding this God in the beginning was Spirit and then from God went out the Logos, or the Theophany, which was a form of a man called the Son of God, prefigured. The question comes up Can we say that Jesus Himself was the Logos? The great revelation which the church is built upon was given to Peter, which was that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. If we say that Jesus is one for one with the Logos, then we have a second God. Now you are taking John 1.1 and making it in the beginning was the Son and the Son was with the Father and the Son was God. Now you have God with God. Notice what brother Branham states regarding this very thing. To misinterpret Jesus Christ being the Word, you would make Him one God out of three, or you would make Him the second person in a Godhead, and to do that you would mess the whole scripture up. The greatest commandment, according to our Lord Jesus, is that God is one. Read Mark 12-29.
Speaker 1:
The Logos is the self-revelation of the invisible God. It is not a second person or another being. It is God Himself coming into a form whereby he can be seen and understood by His creation. And according to John 1-14, this Logos became flesh. Let us look closely at how Brother Branham teaches this in the latter parts of his ministry. On top of Mount Zion will set the Lamb and the city will need no light, for the Lamb is the light thereof, and above the Lamb will be the Father, which is the Logos, god, the great light, the eternal light that will shine just above the throne and Jesus will not be on his Father's throne. He will be on his throne and the Father will hover over the Son, which the Father and Son will be one. Here we have the Lamb, our Lord Jesus Christ, and above Him the Logos. Jesus Himself is not the Logos. Rather, the Logos is the attribute of the fullness of God. Looking closely at this differentiation Brother Branham makes in questions and answers, breaking the quote up upon high points. For the sake of brevity, you can find it in its entirety at tablebranhamorg.
Speaker 1:
Now, that pillar of fire is the Logos that went out of God, the Logos which is actually the attribute of the fullness of God. When God become into a form, to where it could be seen, it was the anointing of the great spirit that went forth, its condescending coming down God, the Father, the Logos that was up over Israel, that then that Logos become flesh and dwelt among us, and where this Logos dwelt in a human body, which was the sacrifice. Now, this Logos that was in Him, which was the spirit of God, the anointing. Now, on the day of Pentecost, it come down that pillar of fire and broke apart, like that, and tongues of fire set upon each of them the Logos separating himself into man, god, not in one person. He is, in his church, universal. Let's break down the points the prophet is making. The pillar of fire is the Logos that went out of God, the anointing of the great spirit that went forth. 2. The Logos is the attribute of the fullness of God. 3. God, the Father, the Logos that was up over Israel. 4. The Logos became flesh and dwelt among us when Jesus was baptized at the river Jordan. 5. The Logos was in and upon Jesus. 6. The same Logos is separating himself into the believers in the universal church. According to these verses, the Logos was the anointing that came upon Jesus. The Logos was not birthed as Jesus was, but was in and upon him.
Speaker 1:
Let us look at a few more quotes to crystallize the teaching Brother Branimus seeking to get across to us, especially after the opening of the seven seals. It is not that his teaching completely changes after the revelation of the seals, but rather that it becomes crystallized. A follow-up to this article will be forthcoming in future issues 1. Said there is the Messiah, I see a light above him like a dove coming upon him. More records said he that told me in the wilderness Go baptize with water. Said Upon whom thou shall see the spirit. That light like a dove coming down was perhaps the same pillar of fire that followed the children of Israel in the wilderness coming upon him, because that was the anointed, the Logos. 1. One day he saw a young man coming walking down. He saw that pillar of fire in the form of a dove coming down from heaven, a voice saying this is my beloved son, in whom I am pleased to dwell in. 2. It is just the verb before the adverb, so it is just the same. Here we see that it was the baptism of the Lord Jesus, when the Spirit of God entered into him, that the Logos was made flesh. The same pillar of fire Logos that led the children of Israel now became fully identified and Manifested in the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. John 1 14 tells us that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Greek word dwelt literally means tabernacled. Jesus became the tabernacled of the Logos, so that when you saw Jesus you were seeing the Logos. Now Let us continue on, because we want to ask was Jesus the pre-existent Logos Notice in the sermon?
Speaker 1:
Who is this Melchizedek? Brother Branham tells us now the different between him and you as a son. See, he was at the beginning the word and an Onmorph, a body. He came in and lived in that, in the person of Melchizedek. Then, later, we never heard no more of Melchizedek because he became Jesus Christ. Melchizedek was the priest, but he became Jesus Christ. Now, you bypassed that because in that form he knowed all things and you have never been able to know that yet. We bypassed our theophany and came directly to flesh from the attribute, but Jesus went directly to his theophany. This is the absolute truth. But let us balance it out with two other points brother Branham makes.
Speaker 1:
The Bible said he is the beginning of the creation of God. How did he begin? In the wombs of a woman. And this Melchizedek was not Jesus, for he was God. And what made Jesus and God different? What that Jesus was? The tabernacle that God dwelt in. See now Melchizedek.
Speaker 1:
Jesus had both father and mother, and this man never had father or mother. Jesus had a beginning of life and he had an end of life. This man had no father, no mother, no beginning of days or ending of life, but it was the self same person. It was Melchizedek and Jesus was one. But Jesus was the earthly body born and fashioned after sin. God's own body, his own son, born and fashioned after sin to take the sting out of death, to pay the ransom and To receive sons and daughters unto himself. You get it. That's the reason that he had, he had a beginning, he had an ending. Now notice he abideth forever. He has a testimony here that he liveth. You never dies, you never did, you never was none, nothing else, but alive. He abideth forever. Now, jesus was made, likened unto him. Now the reason that there's a difference between God and Jesus. Jesus had a beginning, god had no beginning. Melchizedek had no beginning and Jesus had a beginning.
Speaker 1:
Let us break down these four points so that we can properly understand the big picture Revelation God is bringing to us. Jesus did not bypass his theophany, he went to it. In the beginning he was the word and on morph a body and he came and lived in that, in the person of Melchizedek, to Jesus had a beginning in the womb of Mary. Three Melchizedek was not Jesus, he was God. Four Jesus was the earthly tabernacle of God. Five Jesus had a beginning and God Melchizedek had no beginning.
Speaker 1:
Let's work on reconciling these thoughts. Jesus came and lived in the word body in the form of Melchizedek, and yet Melchizedek was not Jesus. Because Jesus had a beginning in the womb of Mary, since Jesus, the Son of God, is the Visible expression of the invisible God. The theophany that went forth in the beginning was his theophany. However, he was not born yet. It was merely his life and theophany that were in the logos. So when you saw that theophany on morph a body, you were seeing Jesus in a pre figure before he actually came into being in the womb of Mary.
Speaker 1:
One the theophany of God in the beginning was Jesus. Two yet Jesus was not born yet the life in that theophany. Three the life in that theophany was the very same life that was later born as Jesus of Nazareth. Then, at his baptism at 30 years of age, the logos, the pillar of fire, the attribute of the fullness of God, came down in the form of a dove and entered into Jesus of Nazareth. While the logos can be a very complicated doctrine as you examine it through the years, as brother brand of taught it, the clarity builds and builds. What a glorious light to be under and a part of in this hour. To the world it seems as foolishness, but to the believer it is the glory of God made manifest before our very eyes.