Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Word, Angel, or God?
When is an idea more than a thought and more than the words that express it? When is an angel more than a messenger of God? And how does the God of the universe use these to express His infinite self to us limited mortals?
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament Framework. Today, the full lesson from Jeremy Thomas. Here's a hint of what's to come.
Speaker 2:Isn't that what we found about the angel of Yahweh in the Old Testament, that at times he's united and he is Yahweh. Other times he's separate and distinct? But here he said seen, if you see me, you've seen the Father. That's showing the unity. But here he's saying if you see me, you've seen the Father. That's showing the unity. But it's also clear that he's distinct because he also says the words I speak. I don't speak on my own initiative, but the Father, abiding in me, does his works.
Speaker 1:A word is merely a thought spoken into existence. It's an idea that is formed and comes out as audio waves, as acoustical vibrations of the air. But when is a word more than just a thought or vibrations in air? When is its substance, its physicality, its reality, its eternity more real than you and I? How is it possible that a word can be all those things? Well, if you've been a Christian a while, you know that Jesus Christ is referred to as the Word. Today, jeremy looks at just how real and impactful this word has been throughout history. And looking back at the Old Testament when it says that the word of God came to a prophet, was that more than just a thought in their head? Let's dive in with Jeremy and find out. Let's keep an open mind as Jeremy opens up the Bible to see what it says about the Word of God, about the angel of God and about the reality of these things in Scripture and in our lives.
Speaker 2:We've been talking about the first event in the New Testament, which is the birth of the King. We'll end up looking at the birth, the life, the death and the resurrection right. Well then we'll look at his exaltation and session and then the beginning of the church on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. But as we go through each event, remember I discussed the event itself, the virgin birth. Then we discussed the responses among the Jewish people to his birth. We also discussed the Gentile response when we looked at the Magi and things like that who came from the East and these interesting responses, and then the proper response what would have been the proper response for the Jewish people when their Messiah came? And then we started to go off into the doctrinal implications, first of which was the hypostatic union, and we traced through early church history, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedon Creed and showed some of the various views as people tried to wrestle with the Scriptures and wrestle with the person of Christ as being truly man and truly God. And I showed you a lot of distortions of that right down through the early centuries of church history and how everything kind of came together at Chalcedon, and I gave a summary of Chalcedon. The hypostatic union is basically stating that Jesus Christ is undiminished deity, united with true humanity in one person, without confusion or separation forever, and so this is a summary of what the scriptures basically teach about his person. After that, we began to delve into the birth of the king. We have already discussed in some detail the deity of Christ, so some of this won't be new, because we're going to be looking at Trinity, and Trinity is indicating that there are three individual persons within the one God, individual persons within the one God. So we want to look at evidences for that in the Old Testament as validation for our answer to the problem of the one and the many, that is, unity and diversity, which we've discussed the last few weeks, the great philosophical problem of this world which I think only Christianity can answer adequately. So now that we've discussed that problem and shown very practical application for the one and the many, I mean marriage the two shall become one flesh. There's a diversity of persons, but there's only one marriage. It's very clear. Also, you've got issues like family. You've got one family, but you've got many members. You've got one nation, but you've got many members. You've got one nation, but you've got many people in the nation. So this problem is all around us and I tried to show the practical application of Trinity and how it would give us wisdom to answer the dilemmas that we face when we're facing something on a national, let's say, crisis, or individual family crisis or marital crisis or whatever. Hopefully it was somewhat helpful.
Speaker 2:So now we want to go to the Old Testament. We want to explore the data. Does the data support the Trinitarian concept of God? So to do this, I want to start with well, I'm going to use five basic arguments. The first one is the multiple Hebrew words that are used for one, the word one, and I'll start with this first word a cod and yaki. These are derived from the same word. So there, but they're interestingly different. I should have put a little bit more information in here about these, so let me do that real briefly.
Speaker 2:For some reason, I forgot to type out what Akkad meant, so I'm going to type it here while we're here. Maybe I can get this thing to work. Akkad means unified oneness, in other words, look at the word unified. In other words, this word doesn't mean absolute oneness. It means that the oneness is a unified oneness. There's unity to it. This is the word in the Old Testament Hebrew that is always used, of God, which is a very interesting word, because the word does not exempt diversity. It's just talking about, if there is diversity in the oneness, that diversity is unified. So, for example, this is exactly the word that's used in Genesis 2.24, which look at it Genesis 2.24. Turn to Genesis 2.24.
Speaker 2:The last verse in chapter 2. When the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he'd taken from the man and he brought her to the man, and the man sang a song, a Hebrew song. This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman or woman, however you want to pronounce it, because she was taken out of man. She shall be called Isha because she's taken out of. Ish is the Hebrew. For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become echad, one flesh. It means the two shall be unified. It doesn't mean that they lose their individual personhood they're still male and female individuals but the two should be unified. This is the word that is also always used of God. So let me take you to Deuteronomy 6.4. Deuteronomy 6.4.
Speaker 2:In Deuteronomy 6.4, we have what the Jews call the Great Shema. This is something they recite three times a day in Judaism to this day. Right, this is a very important statement about God, and so what they state three times a day in chapter 6, verse 4 is Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is Echad, he is onead, he is one, meaning he is a unified oneness. It does not exclude diversity. This is very troubling to Jews, even down to this day, because the other word here, yaqid, is a word that means absolute oneness, absolute oneness, absolute oneness. And this is the word, of course, that in modern Judaism they want to refer to God, because they have the concept of God as a solitary God. There's no diversity of person within God in Judaism today. So it is quite bothersome that this word is not used of God Ever, not even once, ever In any place of the Bible, ever.
Speaker 2:Okay, now there is another word. It's the word bad, but that's not in our bad, not bad in English, but bad in Hebrew, and this word does mean alone, and it can mean solitary oneness similar to Yaqid. Right, and it is used of God, but interestingly, it's never used in the Torah, which also greatly disturbs Jews, because the Torah, the first five books, are the most precious to Judaism. God is not referred to by that word in the Torah and the fact that he is referred to repeatedly many, many times by the word echad causes ambiguity, and this is why those who are practitioners of Judaism or those who are anti-Trinitarians are very threatened by the way the Hebrew language talks about God, because it opens the door for, well, multiple persons or a diversity of persons in God. So this didn't seem to be a problem until post-Christianity, when Christian apologists were going around telling Jews you know, you should believe in Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. He came, he was crucified, he rose again. And the Jews, of course, when they rejected this message, they were rejecting the Jesus of the message and the proclamation that he was God, and they were saying, no, god is a solitary monotheist.
Speaker 2:So Maimonides, one of the great rabbis of Judaism in the post-Christian era, began to insert Yaqid in Jewish formulations of God, because it was a polemic against the Christian idea that God, through the word echad, could have a diversity of person within him. And you can see this in Jewish writings from the time before Christ about what they said about the Hebrew God and what they now say today. It was quite apparent and obvious that Maimonides was making arguments against Christianity and changing the language using Yaqid of God, which is never used of God, by God himself, and this is still in their literature today. And it's obvious that the reason they're doing that is to escape the implications of Ekkad. So unity, this word is very important because it really opens the door for what we call Trinitarianism. So these words are not proving that God is three in one or something like that, but they're opening the door. They tempt us to think well, what exactly is the nature of this God? Because the same word as I showed example is used of a husband and wife becoming one flesh a cot Diversity, but a unified diversity, and that seems to be opening the door for this concept in God as well. So this takes you to the second level of information, in other words, trinity is a combination of evidences put together.
Speaker 2:The second thing is going to be plural references to God, some of which I've mentioned in previous weeks. Right, I think I mentioned last week Genesis 1.26,. What does it say? Let us create man in our own image. And people say, well, what's this us? You know how can God say let us? I mean, wouldn't he say let me, let me create man in my own image? But no, he says let us create God in our image. Why the plurals in Genesis 1, 26 and 28 and so forth?
Speaker 2:So Judaism says the us refers to angels. So God along with the angels who helped him create. This is the Judaistic view of creation. But this can't be, because you've got Psalm 8, 5, which is quoted in Hebrews 2, 5 through 8. So let's go to Hebrews 2, verse 5. Hebrews 2, verse 5.
Speaker 2:Did the angels help in God's creation or did God create by means of the angels, or something like that? Hebrews 2, verse 5, which is a quote from Psalm 8. So we're kind of killing two birds with one stone here. Hebrews 2, verse 5. For he did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking, speaking of the kingdom to come. But one has testified somewhere saying and this is a quote from Psalm 8, 5 and following what is man? That you remember him or the son of man, that you are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor and have appointed him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. Now, by saying there in verse 7, that we were made a little lower than the angels, he's excluding angels from being involved in creation because they are creations Now. So that's part of the evidence. But let's go over to Isaiah 44, where you see more of the evidence that.
Speaker 2:Let's go over to Isaiah 44, where you see more of the evidence that in fact, god created alone Isaiah chapter 44 and he did not use angels in the work of creation. Isaiah 44, verse 24. 44, 24. Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer and the one who formed you from the womb. I, the Lord, am the maker of all things. That's Yahweh. I, yahweh, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens, how by myself, and spreading out the earth, how All alone. Okay, all alone. He did it all by himself. He didn't use angels. Also, of course, you can see Genesis 2.7, when God is making the man. It says he took dust right from the ground and he made the body and he breathed into him the breath of life. Is there any mention of angels in that verse? No, and also genesis 2 22. Genesis 2 22 a little bit later in that chapter where he says the lord god fashioned into a woman the rib, not the Lord God with angels fashioned into a woman. So the Lord alone is the creator. So then, how do we deal with the us? Why does it say us Well?
Speaker 2:Some have said well, it's just a plural of majesty. A plural of majesty, this is the idea of someone who is great, and so they refer to themselves in the first person plural. We, as if you know, I am all greatness. But what is the presupposition behind your greatness? Isn't it that there's plurality there in some sense in order for that concept to even arise? Plurality there in some sense in order for that concept to even arise? In other words, doesn't a plural majesty presuppose that there's multiple persons within one entity? That would seem to be where the concept first arrives or is found. And so we also have, in addition to let us create, like the plural pronouns there, we have the term or name Elohim rather than El, and Elohim is a Hebrew word with the em on the end. That makes it what Some of you have heard enough Hebrew to know. The em on the end is like an S on the end of our language, it pluralizes it. So why in the world is God referred to as Elohim gods rather than El? El alone would just be singular God.
Speaker 2:For example, the very first verse in the Bible uses Elohim plural. In the beginning, elohim created, but it doesn't say gods in your translation, does it? It just says God. Why did they do that? Why didn't they translate it gods? The verb here is singular Created, so it doesn't agree with the plural. So what are they trying to do by setting up the very first verse in the Bible this way, with a plural word for God but a singular noun? Even in the very first verse of the Bible it's setting up a diversity of plurality in God, but only one, a singular. So is this just a plural of majesty or is this saying or hinting that there's more than one person in this God who created? So we have the Elohim and they're all over the Bible.
Speaker 2:Deuteronomy 10.17 uses it of the one true God. We should look at this one Deuteronomy 10.17, in contrast to pagan In verse 17. For the Yahweh, your Elohim is the Elohim of Elohim, but notice how they've translated it. For the Lord, your God, your singular is the God singular of the God's plural right. And the Lord of lords goes on, the awesome God who does not show partiality. So it's showing in this verse that Israel's God, yahweh, is the Elohim who's over all Elohim. In other words, he's the one true God or he's God alone.
Speaker 2:But he uses that plural and that's really interesting. It opens the door every time. It uses that plurality, elohim with a singular verb for diversity and unity, for a plurality of persons in the one God. So the Hebrew language is very interesting and again, this is not saying Trinity, is it? But what this is saying is there's a door here open for diversity within the one God. So we have echad right. That's a unified oneness. It can have diversity in it. And again it opens the door. And it's really bothering to those who are in Judaism or anti-Trinitarian, but you get more when you start to see the plural pronouns. You get more when you start to see the plural Elohim used of God, and especially when it's used with a singular verb. So these are all doorways into a different concept of God than what is promoted by Judaism and anti-Trinitarianism, like Unitarians and so forth, where God is just a solitary oneness.
Speaker 2:So let's go to the next line of evidence. This would be the angel of Yahweh references. These are all interesting. So let's start with this basic concept Is anyone to be worshipped besides God, or is God alone to be worshipped? Are we to worship anything besides God? Okay, no. So it would be interesting to discover if there's someone distinct from Yahweh who is worshipped validly. That would be an interesting discovery.
Speaker 2:So, first of all, isaiah 42.8. Isaiah 42.8. Just so we're clear on scriptural teaching. I mean, what's the first commandment in the ten commandments? Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt make no graven image right? And then we come to a passage like Isaiah 42 in verse 8, and it says I am Yahweh, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images. So again, just to reconfirm that there's no one to whom we should give praise other than Yahweh, him and him alone.
Speaker 2:Now, in Acts, chapter 10, verse 26, we have one of the Herods, one of the Herods, and let's flip over there. Is this supposed to be 1026? Did I get the verse right? No, this is not the Herods, that's a different story. But Acts 1026.
Speaker 2:There's several of these stories where someone is worshiped as if they are God and the person refuses the worship. So this is when Peter entered into Cornelius' house, the Gentile centurion, and he came to preach to him the good news, right. And when he arrived, verse 25, acts 10, 25,. When Peter entered, cornelius met him and fell at his feet and worshiped. But Peter raised him up, saying stand up, I too am just a man. So Peter doesn't accept worship because Peter's not Yahweh, only Yahweh is to be worshiped.
Speaker 2:Right, we've got another example in chapter 14, this one with Paul. Chapter 14, verse 11 through 15. Chapter 14, verses 11 through 15 paul at lystra, and here they had, uh, just healed a lame man and he stands up on his feet and leaps. In verse 10 and then verse 11, when the crowd saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language the gods have become like men and have come down to us. And they began calling Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker and the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and they wanted to offer sacrifice, with the crowds, you know, to Paul and Barnabas. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed into the crowd crying and saying men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of the same nature as you and preach the gospel that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, the one who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that's in them. So he doesn't permit himself to be worshipped, right? Because he's not Yahweh Now.
Speaker 2:So then, if we found someone in the Bible who was permitting themselves to be worshipped, that might be something interesting to look at, right? So let's go to some passages about a strange figure that's called in the Old Testament the angel of Yahweh. This angel of Yahweh is somehow distinct from Yahweh, but in some passages he's identified with Yahweh and worshipped as Yahweh. And the question becomes who was this angel of Yahweh? Okay, so let's go to some of the passages that point out that the angel of Yahweh is distinct from Yahweh himself Genesis 24.7. Maybe you're familiar with this figure or heard of the angel of Yahweh before, or maybe not, but this shows you how close sometimes you have to read. You can't just read and not think. You should read and think and see some of these unique and interesting passages. So Genesis 24, verse 7, and then we'll read verse 40. 24, 7.
Speaker 2:The Lord, the God of heaven, I lost my place. Who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth and who spoke to me and who swore to me saying to your descendants I will give this land. He will send his angel before you. So it's the angel of Yahweh, it's Yahweh's angel, right, and you will take a wife for my son from there. So this is discussing how Isaac got a wife, and the one who would go before in the getting of this wife would be the angel of Yahweh. Now drop down to verse 40. So the angel of Yahweh is distinct from Yahweh right, because he's going on the journey ahead of them to get the wife. In verse 40 he said to me the lord, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you to make your journey successful and you will take a wife for my son from my relatives and from my father's house.
Speaker 2:The only point we're trying to make again is that notice yahweh in verse 40 is distinct from his angel, which would be the angel of Yahweh. Okay, that's all we're trying to show. How about 1 Chronicles 21? 1 Chronicles 21. So you've got 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings and then 1 and 2 Chronicles. So 1 Chronicles 21 and verse 15 through 18. Notice what the angel of Yahweh does here. 1 Chronicles 21, 15.
Speaker 2:Verse 14, yahweh sent a pestilence on Israel. 70,000 men of Israel fell and God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. But as he was about to destroy it, yahweh saw and was sorry over the calamity and said to the destroying angel now how could you speak to the angel if it's just yourself? See what I'm saying. He's not talking to himself, he's talking to this angel. It is enough. He said, now relax.
Speaker 2:And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven with his drawn sword and his hands stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders covered with sackcloth fell on their faces. And David said to God is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done. O Lord, my God, please let your hand be against me and my father's household, but not against your people, that they should be plagued. Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord, and so forth, on the threshing floor of Ornan.
Speaker 2:Again, do you see the distinction between Yahweh and the angel of Yahweh? They're not the same person. Okay, we've seen some examples of that. There are more examples here. Let's go to some passages that show that this angel is identified with Yahweh Distinct but identified with Distinct, but somehow the same. Distinct but identified with distinct, but somehow the same. Let's go to Genesis 16, verse 7. Genesis 16, verse 7. All we're trying to unearth here is what does the Old Testament say about the nature of God? What is he like? Is he just a solitary God or is there diversity within him? Genesis 16, verse 7.
Speaker 2:Now the angel of the Lord found her by a spring this is Hagar right by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring, on the way to Shur. And he said to Hagar Sarah's maid, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress, sarah. Then the angel of the Lord said to her return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority. Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count. And the angel of the Lord said to her further behold, you are with child and you will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. He'll be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand will be against him, and he will live to the east of all his brothers.
Speaker 2:Then she called the name of Yahweh. Who spoke to her. What I thought. It was the angel of Yahweh who spoke to her. Now she calls the name of yahweh. Who is the one who spoke to her? Do you see now that angel of yahweh in this passage is not distinguished from yahweh, but is identified as yahweh? That's strange.
Speaker 2:Let's look at another one. Let's go to Genesis. 31, 22 is the story of Isaac in the altar, abraham and Isaac in the altar. 31, 11 through 13, 31, 11 through 13. 31, 11. Then the angel of God said to me in a dream, jacob and I said here I am. He said lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which you are mating are striped, speckled and mottled, for I've seen all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Bethel. Wait a minute. I thought in verse 11, you were the angel of God. Now you're saying you are God, point being angel of God, equal God, in this passage.
Speaker 2:So over and over, you start to find that not only is the angel of Yahweh in some passages distinct from Yahweh, in other passages he's identified with Yahweh, and I've given many other examples that you can read. So the question becomes in our minds who is this angel of Yahweh? Right when you come to the New Testament and really we're supposed to focus on the Old Testament. But isn't the Old Testament a setup for the New Testament? How can we understand the New Testament if we don't have the Old Testament, a setup for the New Testament? How can we understand the New Testament if we don't have the Old Testament? It seems silly to have to say this today to many theologians who think that we have to have the New Testament interpret the Old Testament. For us that makes no sense the Old Testament was given first.
Speaker 2:In any book you should read in the order of the chapter. You shouldn't start with chapter 22 and then read to chapter 30 and then back up and start reading at chapter 1. I mean, unless I don't know, you just like to do weird things, but typically the author is trying to build a story. I mean, how many of you start watching a movie at an hour and a half in and then back up after you finish the movie and watch the first hour and a half? Or do you say, well, it's all ruined. Now I already know what's going to happen. See, so you don't read that way. And the Old Testament is the same way. In the New Testament you read the Old Testament. That prepares you for the New Testament. And what the Old Testament is doing. It's setting us up for understanding the Trinity, which becomes clearer in the New Testament.
Speaker 2:So we've got A, we've got echad right, this unified oneness. It doesn't exclude diversity, but it's emphasizing the unity. You have yakid never used of God, which is the word for absolute oneness, which all Jews and anti-Trinitarians want to find, to the extent that they started changing formulas in Jewish liturgy to add Yaqid, which the Holy Spirit never used Yaqid of God. But they have to be polemic against Christianity because we're the Trinitarian people, right? Then you've got the plural pronouns let us create, and you've got Elohim, which is a plural. Okay, but with singular verbs. Usually you'd put a plural verb with a plural, the subject's plural. So not in agreement. But what is this saying about God?
Speaker 2:And now you're coming to this concept of the angel of Yahweh, this individual who's different from Yahweh, but he's also identified with Yahweh. So who is he? We come to the New Testament. Let's go to John 1.18. John 1.18. No one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father. He has explained it, and this, of course, is speaking of the second person of the Trinity. Right, he came into this world and he's explaining, or exegeting who the Father is, to what extent, okay, well, john 6, john 6, verse 46, john 6, 46. And we read about this person. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ tells us about himself. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the one who is from God. He has seen the Father. So there's a distinction here, obviously, but it's a close connection.
Speaker 2:And then we come over to chapter 14, john 14. John 14. And you begin to wonder, when he shows up and he starts to say these things, if he wasn't maybe the angel of Yahweh in the Old Testament. If he wasn't maybe the angel of Yahweh in the Old Testament, john 14, verses 8 through 10. Philip said to him Lord, show us the Father, it's enough for us. And Jesus said to him have I been so long with you, thomas, and yet you've not come to know me? Or Philip, excuse me, he who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say show us the Father? Do you not believe that I'm in the Father and the Father's in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his works. Now, these verses actually show unity with the Father, but also distinction from the Father. Isn't that what we found about the angel of Yahweh in the Old Testament, that at times he's united and he is Yahweh, other times he's separate and distinct. But here he's saying if you see me, you've seen the Father. That's showing the unity, but it's also clear that he's distinct because he also says the words I speak, I don't speak on my own initiative, but the Father, abiding in me, does his works, so he's distinct from me.
Speaker 2:Was the Lord Jesus Christ the angel of Yahweh in the Old Testament? That's at least what it looks like in hindsight, because the Old Testament prepared us to understand this by giving us this confusing picture of the angel of Yahweh, so that we want to discover who he is. And then he comes and it's as if we do know who he is. More evidence, the fourth evidence, will be what is known as the word or the wisdom of the Lord. Now, usually when you read something about a prophet and the word of the Lord came to so-and-so and you think, oh yeah, he just heard God's voice I mean, that's the way we read that expression the word of the Lord came to. But is that really all that happened? Or was the word of Yahweh a person? Especially when you come to the New Testament and you read in the beginning, was the word, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and the word was with God and the word was God.
Speaker 2:So who is this figure? Is this a figure in the Old Testament, the word of the Lord, and not just words that the prophet heard? So let's look at some of these Isaiah 2.1. Strange expression in 2.1. The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw, what I don't see words. When words come to me, right, I hear them, but this doesn't say the word which Isaiah the son of Amoz heard concerning it says the word that he saw. That's strange. That's not the normal way we would express this. Now, maybe he just saw a vision, but it doesn't say anything about a vision, and usually it's pretty clear that there's a vision. So what is it? What actually happened? Well, I'm not saying exactly what happened. I'm saying something.
Speaker 2:Strange though, in the way this is expressed Chapter 38, verse 4. This one's not as strange, but here you have this figure the word of Yahweh. This word seems to you know, go to people and accomplish things. Also, you know, do things in nature and things like that. 38.4,. Then the word of the Lord, the word of Yahweh, came to Isaiah saying now, that one's different. That's what we would usually maybe think. That's more normal. But the word of the Lord came to him and the word of the Lord said so it's still a little bit odd. So it's still a little bit odd. It's still a little bit odd. I mean, did someone actually appear there is what I'm saying and then say to Hezekiah or say to the prophet excuse me, isaiah, was there an appearance? It's hard to say, but something a little odd there.
Speaker 2:How about Jeremiah 2? Isaiah, jeremiah comes after that. Jeremiah 2, in verse 2, 4, 11, and 14. Jeremiah 2, verse 2. Well, 1 and 2. Jeremiah 2, verse 1.
Speaker 2:Now the word of the Lord came to me, says Jeremiah, saying Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem. Saying Thus, says the Lord. So this word of the Lord has come to him and is expressing what Yahweh has said. I remember, concerning you, the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after me in the wilderness, through a land not sown. Verse four hear the word of the Lord, o house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, and it goes on. Verse 11, has a nation changed gods when they were not gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
Speaker 2:So you know, just going through the passage, it's interesting to think that the word of the Lord is expressing something on behalf of the Lord. But the question becomes is who is that? Or is it just words, but the word of the Lord sounds like a person in verses 1 and 2. Someone who's come to convey the word of Yahweh. So then, for he would be distinct from Yahweh, but he's proclaiming whatever Yahweh has told him to proclaim. Who is this word of the Lord? Hosea 1.1,. These go on and on. I've given you lots of examples here. Hosea 1.1,. I'll just read this one the word of the Lord which came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, during the days of Uzziah. So again, you wonder, why does it express it this way? The word of the Lord which came. It's just odd. So maybe this is an individual and not just hearing words.
Speaker 2:Later in the New Testament, as I mentioned, the word becomes flesh and dwells among us. Why is he referred to in John's gospel as the word? Is that to connect us to the word of the Lord? Passages in the Old Testament, in his word of the Lord in the Old Testament, an expression for the second person of the Trinity? That's the question. How about Proverbs 8.22? Proverbs 8.22. And this will talk about the wisdom of the Lord. Proverbs 8.22. After Psalms you have Proverbs. So if you go right to the middle of the Bible, they say you're going to open it up to Psalms and if you go a little bit to the right you'll find the Proverbs.
Speaker 2:The first nine chapters are wisdom literature and then later you get to the pithy short sayings in chapters 9 and following, and in chapter 8, there's this interesting figure. Now, throughout the book of Proverbs it's kind of interesting in the early chapters wisdom is viewed as feminine. Consistently, sometimes lady wisdom, lady wisdom, is portrayed as a woman, because a woman in Genesis was created for the man to be a help. So wisdom is viewed as a helper. And these chapters are telling us that get wisdom right. Wisdom is more valuable than gold and silver and diamonds. You know, do anything to get wisdom and diamonds. You know, do anything to get wisdom. Why? Because it's a help. Every believer needs it in life to navigate the trials and difficulties of life. So these chapters are talking about the importance of wisdom and getting it because it's a help.
Speaker 2:Now, wisdom in the Old Testament, hebrew, is the concept of skill. So, for example, if you were an artist who had wisdom, that meant you had skill in art. If you're a musician and you had wisdom, it meant you had skill in your musical instrument or with voice or with whatever the task was at hand, so it was always a helper. And in this case you need wisdom to be skillful in the way you live life right. So that's all the background in Proverbs 1 through 8.
Speaker 2:And then we meet this interesting figure in verse 22. Proverbs 8, 22. And it says Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of his way. Speaking of what, speaking of wisdom? Notice verse 12. And it says Yahweh possessed me at the beginning of his way. Speaking of what, speaking of wisdom? Notice verse 12. So back up and see what he's talking about when he says possessed me, I wisdom, verse 12. So when he says in verse 22, the Lord possessed me, he's saying the Lord possessed wisdom at the beginning of his way, before his works of old, so before the works of creation. Is what he's talking about? That wisdom was with him.
Speaker 2:Verse 23 from everlasting. I was established from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth, when there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no springs abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. So this is all talking about things that were created during creation week. And he's saying I was before that eternal generation.
Speaker 2:I was there first, who is it? It's well, it's wisdom. Right, wisdom is a help and this wisdom is with god, this with yahweh. This is a helper of yahweh. A helper of yahweh in what? In creation? Okay, in the creation work verse 26 while he had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world, when he established the heavens, I was there that's wisdom. When he inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed, when he set for the sea its boundary so that the water would not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him as a master worker, then I was beside him as a master workman. I, wisdom was with him in the beginning as a master workman, and I was his daily delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in the world, his earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.
Speaker 2:The question is well, who is this wisdom? Is it just a concept or is it a person? It sounds like a person because verse 30 says he was a master workman and the New Testament opens up and indicates that creation itself was done by the Father as source through the agent of the Son, by the Father as source through the agent of the Son and with the oversight of the Holy Spirit. So is the wisdom that was with the Father in the beginning. Is this another indication in the Old Testament that there's a diversity of persons within himself from all eternity past? Then later, paul says in 1 Corinthians 2.24, what 1 Corinthians 1.24, speaking of the crucifixion of Christ, to Jews, a stumbling block To Gentiles, foolishness. But verse 24, to those who are the called both Jews and Greeks. But verse 24, to those who are the called both Jews and Greeks, christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. Is that a reference back to Proverbs 8? As the wisdom that was with him from the beginning, who exercised his own power along with Yahweh as a master worker, it opens the door again for multiple persons within the Trinity. There's a special case of the Lord reigning forth from the Lord. We can look at that Genesis 19.24. It's a very strange expression Genesis 19, 24.
Speaker 2:I'm pointing out some of the peculiarities. You can read Genesis, you know, multiple times. If you ever tried to read through the Bible, you usually start with Genesis right. So if you made it at least a few weeks you would get to this chapter. But did you ever notice this? In the chapter Genesis 19, verse 24. This in the chapter Genesis 19, verse 24. Then the Lord, that's Yahweh. Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh. Doesn't it sound like the two Yahwehs are distinct? Yahweh rained forth from Yahweh. What? Why would it phrase it like that? That is so odd.
Speaker 2:Jonathan Ben-Uzziel, which is one of the Targums in the Jewish community, renders the original text of this passage as follows he replaced the first Yahweh with word of Yahweh. See how he did that, he says and the word of the Lord caused to descend upon the people of Sodom and Gomorrah br. Brimstone of fire from the lord of heaven. In other words, he distinguished. He took word of the lord from other passages, like the ones we've looked at, because the jews are the one who discovered this. They said who is this word of the lord figure? Over and over and over. Well, they came to the conclusion in the targums that he's closely related to yahweh. But in this section they're trying to show he's showing by his translation that it's the distinct person. But do you see how it phrased it? Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh. I mean, why would you need to say it again if you've already said it, unless there's a point in saying it twice to indicate two different persons. And Jonathan Ben Uziel says yes, two separate persons. Word of the Lord. Rain forth, fire and brimstone from Yahweh, from the Lord. So very interesting passage and very interesting wording.
Speaker 2:Dr David L Cooper I don't know if you've heard about this guy, but you may have if you've ever studied Bible interpretation. I don't know if you've heard about this guy, but you may have if you've ever studied Bible interpretation. This is one of the guys that says you take every word in its normal sense unless the context and so forth indicate clearly otherwise. So he's kind of famous for making this statement about how to interpret you take it in its plain, normal sense unless there's something in the context that indicates plainly otherwise. David L Cooper was one of the men who greatly influenced Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum and discipled him, and you know in Dr Fruchtenbaum's writings you can see his mentioning of Dr David L Cooper a number of times.
Speaker 2:After studying all this type of information that I have shared with you today, dr David L Cooper made this statement about Trinity in the Old Testament. He said from all the facts which we have learned thus far, we see that Moses and the prophets were Trinitarians and the great leaders of Israel in pre-Christian times were likewise Trinitarian. Now that's going really far. Okay, that's going really really far. And most New Testament or biblical scholars would say that's going too far. Okay, yes, they saw a plurality in God, but saying Trinity, threeness, that's probably going too far and I would agree you got to be careful and that's probably going a little bit too far. But you can see two or three figures quite easily.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to take you to two passages that are what I call the explicit references to three persons and one God in the Old Testament. It's there. The first one is Isaiah 48, verse 12 and 16. Isaiah 48, verse 12. And verse 16. Isaiah 48 and verse 12. Listen to me, o Jacob. Even Israel whom I called, I am he. I am the first and I am the last. Okay, that's clearly Yahweh.
Speaker 2:And then verse 18, come near to me, I'm sorry, verse 16. Verse 16, come near to me, I'm sorry, verse 16. Verse 16, come near to me. That is the one who is first and last. Right, listen to this From the first. I have not spoken in secret. From the time it took place, I was there. And now Yahweh God has sent me and his spirit. Now, wait a minute. Yahweh has sent me. Well, who's me, me, is the person back in verse 12. The one who's the first and the last, which is Yahweh. That's used of Yahweh many, many times. So verse 16 is then saying Yahweh has sent Yahweh and his spirit. So now we've got two Yahwehs, right, and the spirit.
Speaker 2:I thought there was only one Yahweh, one God. Yeah, there is. There's a unified oneness, but in that oneness, echad, right, there's a diversity of persons. Is this an indication of Father, son and Spirit? And we already know the deity of Christ passage. Christ claims to be God multiple times.
Speaker 2:So we've taken you to all those passages, but here's one in the Old Testament, right? How about Isaiah 60? Isaiah 60, verse 22. Isaiah 60, verse 22. This is a famous one. 60, verse 22. This is a famous one. To get the context here, this is going to be the passage that Jesus in the synagogue in Luke, chapter 4, quotes. You know, in the synagogue they would have a Jewish male stand and read scripture right, read from the scroll, and you remember the occasion they bring in the scroll and he opens it to the place where it says in Isaiah. Well, this is the place where he opened the scroll to read from. So let's see, in verse 22, the context 60, 22 the smallest one will become a clan and the least one a mighty nation.
Speaker 2:I who, yahweh the lord, never see all caps. By the way, that's the Tetragrammaton, which is four Hebrew letters. It's a consonantal language. So this is the name of God, yahweh, and it's translated Lord, in all caps in most translations. So when you see that, you know that's the Tetragrammaton. It's Yahweh. I, yahweh, will hasten it in its time, continuing the spirit of Yahweh is upon me. Wait a minute, because Yahweh has anointed me. Now wait, I thought you were Yahweh In verse 22, I, yahweh, are going to hasten it. But then in verse 1, you say the spirit of Yahweh is upon me. Here we have two Yahwehs again right. And he goes on to say he's anointed me to do what? To bring good news to the afflicted. He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the lord. Now, did you see three people in there. By the way, way, you saw verse 22,. Yahweh right, there's Yahweh number one In 61.1,. You see the Spirit. Do you see the Spirit? And the Spirit of who? Spirit of Yahweh. There's another Yahweh, there's three. You see all three and they're all different Because the Yahweh that's referred to there in 61.1 anointed the Yahweh from 60.22.
Speaker 2:So let's go to the New Testament and close with Luke 4. This is the section in Isaiah that our Lord picked up to read in synagogue that day and we want to see what he said In Luke 4, 16. And he came to Nazareth, which is where he was brought up, and, as was his custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read and unroll the scroll, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him and he opened the scroll and he found the place where it is written. Now, they didn't have chapter and verse divisions, they just knew the Bible. So he unrolls the scroll. We know we'd say 60 something chapters and you're just going to find this spot. That's how well he knew the word. And this is the spot he found.
Speaker 2:It's right out of what we call Isaiah 61, right, we just read it. It says the spirit of the Lord, that is, the spirit of Yahweh is upon me. But we know the me from chapter 60 in Isaiah. Is Yahweh right? So the spirit of the Lord is upon Yahweh, all three persons right there, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of Yahweh. And he closed the book, the scroll, he gave it back to the tenant, he sat down and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him and he began to say to them today this scripture has been fulfilled.
Speaker 2:In your hearing, who is he? He's the Yahweh of Isaiah 60, 22 that the Spirit of the Lord anointed. You see the three people, don't you? And yet there's only one God. He's a God. There is a unified oneness to him, that is, father, son and Spirit are always in unity. They're always in agreement, but they are distinct people because you can't agree with yourself and count. As you know, these passages wouldn't make sense if that's the way it was. There's agreement between three distinct persons in the oneness of God. So while all this doesn't prove the Trinity boy. It does get very close to this statement, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:That Dr David L Cooper said that Moses and the prophets were Trinitarian and the great leaders of Israel in pre-Christian times, that's before the New Testament right, were likewise Trinitarian. And I do find it interesting when you come to the Gospels and you come to Acts and you go into the epistles. Did the Apostle Paul, for example, in Acts and then on into his epistles, have any trouble with Jesus being God? No, he didn't. Why didn't he have any trouble with that? Because he understood that it was basically built into the Old Testament.
Speaker 2:It's only in modern Judaism, who's had to combat Christianity in our Trinitarian notions, that they've said nope, we don't like Akkad, we're going to go with Yaqid and we're going to put that in all our formulation. But, as I said, it's very troubling that the Bible actually never says that. The Bible never says God is Yaqid an absolute oneness. It refers to him as an Akkad, that is, a unified oneness.
Speaker 2:And I've shown you passages that open up for multiple people the Spirit, yahweh, another Yahweh. What in the world is going on? You've got Psalm 110.1. Yahweh, the Lord, said to my Lord. Yahweh said to my Lord how could you have another Lord, multiple Lords. There's so much evidence and we haven't even got to the New Testament. Next week we'll do that, okay, and it'll become much more clear. So I would say that the Old Testament preps us, it prepares us to see Trinity, to understand Trinity through all these evidences. But the New Testament, it makes it crystal clear. It makes it crystal clear. And so what are the evidences? Different Hebrew words for one right, akkad is the only one that's used, yaqid is never used.
Speaker 2:Then you've got the plural pronouns, the plural name of God, elohim, but with singular verbs, strange. You've got the angel of Yahweh, who's distinct from Yahweh in some passages. Other passages, the angel of Yahweh is identified as Yahweh. And then you've got the word of the Lord. Again, is this just an expression? Some prophet heard God's voice. Why would it say? The word of the Lord came to someone and they saw something Strange. And then, of course, these passages that discuss explicitly, explicit references Isaiah, both of the passages Isaiah 48 and Isaiah 60. So hopefully this will be a little bit of help.
Speaker 2:Now, is it okay to worship Jesus then? Well, yes, absolutely. And because he's very God of very God, he's the exegesis of the Father. He came and showed us exactly who the Father is. He's the exact representation of God. Hebrews 1. So what did he do for us then? As God is a true human, you know 100% God, 100% man, he offered himself up to pay the penalty for our sin. He didn't have any sin right, so he was under no penalty. So what is he doing on the cross? He says you know, no one can take my life from me. I lay it down in my own accord.
Speaker 2:All the Roman armies in the world could not have put Jesus Christ on the cross. It was impossible for them. Remember when they came to arrest him? Some argue that there was 600 soldiers, a cohort Roman soldiers, who came to arrest him with Judas, making sure this time he's not going to escape. And they asked which one he was and he said I am. And what happened to all those Roman soldiers? They all went back, every single last one of them, and fell on their back with all their armor and all their gear and all their swords, and they had to spend five minutes trying to get all their stuff back together to stand up. What was he saying? If you're going to arrest me, it's only because I'm going to let you. If you're going to arrest me, it's only because I'm going to let you. You can't arrest me. I'm without sin, I'm sinless, and so what I'm doing now, by allowing you to arrest me, is I'm going to let myself be put on the cross. But let me let you know now. This is the only way it's going to happen.
Speaker 2:This is how much God loved us. This is how much he loved us. This is how much he loved us. He didn't want to drink the cup. He even says to the Father if it's possible, take this cup from me, right? But he said, not my will, but thy will be done, meaning I want to do exactly what the Father wants me to do. I want to fulfill my mission. So he gives his life for us. He didn't have to, and God doesn't need you and God doesn't need me to be satisfied. He's totally complete in himself. So whatever he's doing is totally selfless. And this is pointing us to the love of God, how much he loves you and how much he loves me. And it's hard, because if you really let that register with you, you realize the magnitude of that love is nothing you've ever experienced, nothing.
Speaker 2:It says that a good man will lay down his life for his friend. But who will lay down his life for his friend? But who will lay down his life for his enemies? Will you? Will you give your life for your enemy? That is what he has done for us, because we were not friends of God. As unbelievers, we are lost and we are the enemies of God.
Speaker 2:Romans chapter 5. But God so loved us in this that he demonstrates his love for us and that he gave his son for us, his enemies. And that's what we're remembering when we take communion right the laying down of his life for us, the giving up of his life. Why? Because we don't have any life to give God. We are dead in our transgressions and sin and there's nothing that we can do and there's nothing that we can give him that will satisfy him. Jeremiah says, or Isaiah even our righteousness is filthy rags. He's not interested in that, but he is interested in one person, in what he did, in what he gave God, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Because he lived a life of perfect sinlessness and he gives up his life on our behalf. He substitutes himself. He says I'll die for you, I'll take your penalty and in exchange I'll give you my life, and that's what eternal life is.
Speaker 2:Jesus Christ, the true God, and eternal life. The text of Scripture says it. This is what he's giving you, and obviously then it's just free, right. But this is what he's giving you, and obviously then it's just free right. But people cannot comprehend that God could give something totally free of charge. Aren't there some strings attached? Don't I now have to do certain things in order to keep this eternal life that he's given me? No, even if we are faithless, he is faithful. He will not deny himself. He gives you eternal life as a totally free gift. Can that even be possible? It's not only possible, it's true, it's 100% true, it's guaranteed.
Speaker 2:Jesus said he who believes in me has everlasting life and has passed out of death and into life. It's a done deal if you believed in him. But don't I have to do more than believe in him? Don't I have to get water baptized? Don't I have to promise the Lord I will turn from my sins? Don't I have to live a holy life? Don't I have to commit myself? No, he committed himself to you because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, which satisfied him in full. And Jesus said it's finished.
Speaker 2:So what are we going to add to a work that is finished? What am I going to add by promising to live a better life? What am I going to add by getting water baptized? What am I going to add by turning from my sins? I can't add anything to a finished work. It was finished on the cross and he's giving it to us totally free of charge, totally free. And that's what people cannot get over, because people want to contribute something, but the contribution has already been made. And the question is will you just accept it and you say but that strikes at my pride. That strikes at my pride. What about the good things I've done? He's not interested in that. Remember, it's worse than the fact that we still sin. I mean, have you lived a perfect, perfect life? Have you never had a sinful thought? Have you never said a sinful word? Have you never said a sinful word? Have you never done a sinful deed? For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It's a problem. Jesus Christ is the solution.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. You can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. No-transcript.