Foretold Messiah 5 Old Testament pointing to John the Baptist and to Immanuel, Jeshua the Christ

The Old Testament (OT), as we have seen in the previous chapters, points ahead to the person God was going to send for bringing an end to the curse of death. From the Hebrew Scriptures we also come to know that this special messenger of God, a prophet, would come to call people to return from their bad way of living and to return to the Only One True God, Who is One.

Hundreds of years before the birth of the Nazarene man Jeshua (Jesus Christ), numerous prophecies concerning him had been given and were preserved in the Hebrew Scriptures (commonly called the Old Testament). Christ’s fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy is often noted by New Testament writers as a demonstration of God’s faithfulness to his promises of salvation and as confirmation of the divine authority of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the ages, we can see that some people do not seem to desire to advance in the knowledge of God. But Jehovah God wants to give everybody the opportunity to get to know Him. For that matter, He sent out many prophets to tell about Him and to warn about future events. It were those Hebrew prophets, chosen ones from God, who also told about some Savour to come. Those leaders for the Chosen people of Israel spoke about signs to come, first so that people would come to know that a saviour would be at hand and secondly that people would come to see that the present sinful world would come to an end, by a great battle destroying the averse world and having the returned Messiah taking his throne in the Kingdom of God.

People got warned they had to look out for the man being called Immanuel.

14 For this, Jehovah he will give to you a sign: Behold, the virgin conceiving, and she will bare a son, and call his name Immanuel.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 7:14). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

We are told a child to be born and to grow up, without being contaminated by wrongdoing.

And thou, house of bread, of Ephratah, for being small among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth to me he being ruler in Israel; and his goings forth from of old from the days of eternity.
2 For this he will give them up even till the time she bearing will bring forth: and the remainder of his brethren shall turn back to the sons of Israel.
3 And he stood and fed in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God; and they shall dwell: for now shall he be magnified to the ends of the earth.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mi 5:1–3). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

15 Curdled milk and honey he shall eat, for his knowing to reject in evil, and to choose in good.
16 For before the boy shall know to reject in evil and to choose in good the land which thou abhorrest shall be forsaken from the face of its two kings.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 7:15–16). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

People could come to recognise him who is presented as a gift to mankind, by putting all ancient prophecy stories together, knowing him also to come from the Tribe of David.

5 For a child was born to us, a son was given to us, and the dominion shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Captain of Peace.
6 To the increase of his dominion and to peace no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to prepare it and to support it in judgment and in justice from now and even to forever: the zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this.
7 Jehovah sent a word into Jacob, and it fell upon Israel.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 9:5–7). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

The Old Testament (OT) passages (Mal. 3:1 and Isa. 40:3) are furnished to show that John the Baptist and Jesus are to be understood in the context of the prophecies regarded by ancient Jews and Christians as Holy (or set-apart) Scriptures and divine revelation of God’s purposes. That is, in the writer’s view, neither Jesus nor John appeared “out of the blue” but, rather, as a fulfilment of God’s plan of redemption. This attitude, that the OT is a record of God’s work and plan and that Jesus must be interpreted as fulfilment of the work and word of God in the OT, is reflected throughout the New Testament (NT) writings and received continuing expression as the church used the OT writings as Scripture in its subsequent history. This view is, of course, formally reflected in the inclusion of the OT as part of the Christian Bible – a decision still accepted by all the major branches of Christianity today.

Behold me sending my messenger, and he looked upon the way before my face: and suddenly Jehovah whom ye seek shall come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in: behold him coming, said Jehovah of armies.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mal 3:1). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

3 The voice of him calling in the desert, Prepare ye the way of Jehovah, make straight in the sterile region a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the acclivity was for evenness, and the mountain ranges for a valley:

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 40:3–4). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

At the same time, there was spoken about another man who would prepare the way for the chosen one from God who would show the people the right path to the Kingdom of God. The voice of one calling out in the wilderness was pointing to John the Baptist. He announced that soon there would come someone more important than him, to prepare the way to the Elohim. That man of flesh and blood would take away the stumbling block for mankind and liberate them of the chains of death.

14 And he shall say, Lift ye up, lift ye up; clear the way, take up the stumbling block out of the way of my people.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 57:14). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

The apostle Matthew when he wrote his gospel had become totally convinced that John the Baptist and the Nazarene rabbi Jeshua were the ones spoken from old.

In these days John the Baptist is present, proclaiming in the desert of Judea;
2 And saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.
3 For this is he spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mt 3:1–3). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

The other disciples, like Mark, Luke and  John were also convinced that in the scrolls was spoken about those who they knew and met in their lifetime.

2 As it has been written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
3 A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make his beaten paths straight.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mc 1:2–3). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

2 Upon Annas and Caiaphas being chief priests, the word of God was upon John, son of Zacharias in the desert.
3 And he came into all the country round about Jordan, proclaiming the immersion of repentance for remission of sins;
4 As it has been written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, A voice of him crying in the desert, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his footpaths straight.
5 Every ravine shall be filled up, and every mount and hill shall be lowered; and the crooked shall be into straightness, and the rough into smooth ways.
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Lc 3:2–6). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

6 A man was sent from God, the name to him John.
7 This came for testimony, that he might testify concerning the Light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not that Light, but that he might testify for the Light.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Joh 1:6–8). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

14 And the Word was flesh, and dwelt with us, (and we beheld his glory, as the glory of the only born of the father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John testifies for him, and he cried, saying, This was he of whom I said, He coming after me was before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his completion we all received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses; grace and truth were by Jesus Christ.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Joh 1:14–17). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

Many people knew that it very well could be in their time that the Messiah would come and were curious if perhaps John was the man spoken of. Under inspiration, John applied Isaiah’s words about the voice in the wilderness to himself.

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem that they might ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he acknowledged, and denied not; and he acknowledged, That I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked, What then? Art thou Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou a prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they to him, Who art thou? that we might give answer to them having sent us. What sayest thou for thyself?
23 He said, I the voice of him crying in the desert, Make ye straight the way of the Lord, as said Esaias the prophet.
24 And they having been sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said to him, Why immersest thou then, if thou art not Christ, neither Elias, neither a prophet?
26 John answered them saying, I immerse in water: but he stands the midst of you, whom ye know not;
27 This is he coming after me, who was before me, of whom I am not worthy that I might loose the strings of his shoes.
28 These things were in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was immersing.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Joh 1:19–28). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

Several events would take place before the apostles came to see more and more how what happened with their master was in agreement with what was told in the ancient prophecies. For many, the entrance in Jerusalem should have been a final clear sign.

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; make a loud noise, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king shall come to thee: just, and saying; he is humble and riding upon an ass, and upon an ass’s colt the son of asses.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Zach 9:9). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

Many had been looking for the one shoot who would come out from the stump (Choter) of Jesse, and the branch (mig·Ge·za / Netzar) which will bear fruit out of his roots, [(Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zech 3:8; 6:12, Ezra 3:8) which give as Moshiach’s Namesake Yahushua/Yehoshua/Yeshua or Jeshua; compare Mt.2:23] shall bear fruit of his roots:.

5 Behold the days coming, says Jehovah, and I raised up to David a just sprout, and a king reigned and prospered, and he did judgment and justice in the earth.
6 In his days shall Judah be saved, and Israel shall dwell with confidence: and this his name which he shall be called: Jehovah Our Justice.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Jr 23:5–6). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

And a rod shall come forth from the stock of Jesse, and a sprout shall blossom from his roots:
2 And the spirit of Jehovah resting upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah:
3 His sweet odor in the fear of Jehovah: and not according to the seeing of his eyes shall he judge, and not according to the hearing of his ears shall he decide.
4 And he judged the powerless with justice, and he decided in straightness for the humble of the earth: and he struck the earth with the rod of his mouth, and by the spirit of his lips he will slay the unjust.
5 And justice was the girding of his loins, and truth the girding of his loins.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 11:1–5). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

14 Behold, the days coming, says Jehovah, and I raised up the good word which I spake to the house of Israel and for the house of Judah.
15 In those days and in that time I will cause the sprout of justice to spring up to David; and he did judgment and justice in the land.
16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell with confidence; and this is what shall be called to her: Jehovah our Justice.
17 For thus said Jehovah, I will not cut off to David a man sitting upon the throne of the house of Israel;
18 And to the priests, the Levites, I will not cut off a man from my face bringing up burnt-offerings, and burning the gift, and doing sacrifice all the days.
19 And the word of Jehovah will be to Jeremiah, saying,
20 Thus said Jehovah, ….

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Jr 33:14–20). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

And thou, house of bread, of Ephratah, for being small among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth to me he being ruler in Israel; and his goings forth from of old from the days of eternity.
2 For this he will give them up even till the time she bearing will bring forth: and the remainder of his brethren shall turn back to the sons of Israel.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mi 5:1–2). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

8 Hear now, O Joshua the great priest, thou and thy friends sitting before thee, for they are men of wonder: for behold me bringing my servant the Sprout.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Zach 3:8). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

12 And say to him, saying, Thus said Jehovah of armies, saying, Behold the man, The Sprout his name; and he shall spring forth from his place and build the temple of Jehovah.
13 And he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall lift up the majesty, and he sat and ruled upon his throne: and he was priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them two.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Zach 6:12–13). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

For those living at the time after the death of Christ, other writings should pull the attention and should make it clear that this man who was betrayed, nailed at the stake and after him being laid in a grave having risen, is that one spoken of in the OT.

23 In the beginning of thy supplications the word came forth, and I came to announce; for thou art desires: and understand thou in the word, and consider in the sight.
24 Seventy seventy were divided upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to close the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to expiate iniquity, and to bring in eternal justice, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the holy of holies.
25 And thou shalt know and understand, from the going forth of the word to turn back and to build Jerusalem even to Messiah the leader, seventy weeks, and sixty and two weeks: and the street shall turn back and be built, and the ditch, in the trouble of the times.
26 And after sixty and two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, and not for him: and the people of the leader coming shall destroy the city and the holy place; and its end with an overflowing, and even to the end of the war desolations were determined.
27 And he made strong the covenant to many one week: and half the week he shall cause the sacrifice and gift to cease, and upon the wing of abominations laying waste, even to the completion, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolation.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Da 9:23–27). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

10 The rod shall not depart from Judah, and a leader from between his feet, till that Shiloh shall come: and to him the obedience of the nations.
11 Binding his colt to the vine, and to the purple vine the son of the she-ass; he washed in wine his garment, and his clothing in the blood of grapes.
12 The eyes flashing from wine, the teeth white from milk.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Gn 49:10–12). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

10 And I will take my rod Beauty, and I will cut it off, to break my covenant which I cut out with all the peoples.
11 And it shall be broken in that day: and the poor of the flock watching me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.
12 And saying to them, If good in your eyes, give ye my hire; and if not, desist. And they will weigh my hire, thirty of silver.
13 And Jehovah will say to me, Cast it to the potter: a splendor of price which I was prized of them. And I shall take the thirty of silver and cast it in the house of Jehovah, to the potter.
14 And I shall cut off my second rod, Cords, to break the brotherhood between Judah and between Israel.
15 And Jehovah will say to me, Yet take to thee the vessels of a foolish shepherd.
16 For behold, I raise up a shepherd in the land, he shall not review those being concealed; the youth he shall not seek, and he shall not heal the broken, and he shall not nourish the standing firmly: and he shall eat the flesh of the fatling, and he shall break their hoofs.
17 Wo! to the empty shepherd forsaking the sheep; the sword upon his arm, and upon his right eye: and his arm being dried up, shall be dried up, and his right eye being dim, shall be dim.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Zach 11:10–17). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

6 My back I gave to those smiting, and my cheeks to those tearing out the hair: and my face I hid not from shame and spittle.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 50:6). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

7 And I a worm and not a man; a reproach of man, and the people despised me.
8 All seeing me will deride me: they will gape with the lip, they will shake the head.
9 He rolled upon Jehovah, he will deliver him: he will deliver him for he delighted in him.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Ps 22:7–9). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

21 He watched all his bones: one of them was not broken.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Ps 34:21). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

From birth to death, Jesus fulfilled numerous prophecies recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures.

 

The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah anointed me to announce good news to the afflicted, he sent me to bind up to the broken of heart, to call freedom to the captives, and the opening of the prison to the bound.
2 To call the year of acceptance to Jehovah, and the day of vengeance to our God; to comfort all those mourning;

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 61:1–2). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

17 And the book of Esaias the prophet was given to him. And having unfolded the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for which he anointed me to announce good news to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim a remission to the captives, and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send away with remission the bruised,
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And having folded the book and given back to the servant, he sat down. And the eyes of all in the assembly were looking attentively upon him.
21 And he began to say to them, That this day has this writing been filled up in your ears.
22 And all bore him testimony and wondered at the words of grace going out of his mouth: and said, Is not this the son of Joseph?
23 And he said to them, Directly will ye say to me this proverb, Physician, cure thyself: what things we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.
24 And he said, Truly I say to you, That not any prophet is accepted in his country.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Lc 4:17–24). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

13 And having left Nazareth behind, having come, he dwelt in Capernaum, near the sea, in the boundaries of Zabulon and Nephthalim:
14 That it might be completed having been spoken through Esaias the prophet, saying,
15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, the way of the sea beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations:
16 The people sitting in darkness saw a great light; and to them sitting in the room and shadow of death, light has sprung up to them.
17 From then Jesus began to proclaim, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mt 4:13–17). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

Looking at the New Testament we shall come to see there are many more phrases which refer to what prophets said in the ancient days and words of Jesus which have to remind us about what is said in the OT for what is going to happen in the future, when the sings of the last days would be at hand. (When presenting the writings from Jesus’ disciples we shall discuss such referrals.)

Even today we see that lots of people still reject this given man of God, who has become the cornerstone of a (re)new(ed) people of God.

22 The stone the builders refused will be for the head of the corner.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Ps 118:22). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

10 Also the man of my peace whom I trusted in him, eating my bread, magnified the heel against me.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Ps 41:10). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

18 I say not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the writing might be completed, He chewing bread with me lifted up his heel against me.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Joh 13:18). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

42 Jesus says to them, Have ye never read in the writings, The stone which the builders disapproved of, this was for the head of the corner? This was from the Lord, and it was wonderful in your eyes.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mt 21:42). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

10 And have ye not read this writing; The stone which the builders disapproved of, this was for the head of the corner:
11 This was of the Lord, and is wonderful in our eyes?

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mc 12:10–11). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

17 And having looked upon them, he said, What then is this written, The stone which the builders disapproved of, this has been for the head of the corner?
18 Every one having fallen upon that stone shall be crushed, and upon whomsoever it should fall, it shall winnow him.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Lc 20:17–18). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

Like in old times, today as in the time of Jesus, many won’t see nor hear as is written in the OT.

9 And he will say, Go, and say to this people, Hearing, hear ye, and ye shall not understand; and seeing, see ye, and ye shall not know.
10 Make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes, lest they shall see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their heart shall understand and turn back and be healed to them.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Js 6:9–10). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

13 For this I speak to them in parables: for seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And the prophecy of Esaias is filled up in them, saying, In hearing shall ye hear, and not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive.
15 For the heart of this people has been thickened, and with their ears have they heard heavily, and their eyes have they closed; lest perhaps they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and turn back, and I should heal them.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Mt 13:13–15). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

The early Christians not only saw Jesus prefigured in certain OT prophecies of a coming redemption, but in addition, they regarded Jesus as the culmination of all God had done in the OT. In this sense, virtually everything in the OT seemed to have anticipated and pre–figured Jesus and thus gained its “fulfilment” in him.

What Jesus said and did, fulfiled many of the Hebrew Scripture prophecies. When we see how all those prophesies became fulfiled, we should understand that behind all those words written in those scrolls was a Particular Hand, mightier than any human being. As such we should be convinced that the “Old Testament,” had been given to the nation of Israel by God through the inspiration of his servants, and that his greatest servant is that Immanuel, God with us, Jeshua the promised Messiah (Jesus Christ).

The fulfilment of these above-mentioned prophecies and other prophecies proves that Jesus was the Saviour sent by God. In the Bible, the Old and New Testament, we have “all the counsel” or “the whole purpose (will) of God” for everyone to read. (Acts 20:27)

27 For I concealed not to announce to you all the counsel of God.

Smith, J. E. (Vert.). (1876). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments; Translated Literally from the Original Tongues (Hnd 20:27). Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company.

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Preceding

Out of the seed of Eve

Foretold Messiah 1 First mentioning

Foretold Messiah 2 a Voice giving The Word to His servants

Foretold Messiah 3 Bruised one to be taken into heaven as a servant and son of God

Foretold Messiah 4 From the seed of Noah and Abraham

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Additional reading

  1. Seeing or not seeing and willingness to find God
  2. With child and righteousness greater than the law
  3. Not about personal salvation but about a bigger Plan
  4. Man’s own fault and the choice to flee from fear

Messiah for all 2015 in review

Welcome

Dear reader,

Thank you very much for visiting this young site.

After a turbulent year in which the Belgian Christadelphians had to undergo several tests I decided to react to those Christians who called me dirty names and send me horrible things, accusing me of defiling Jesus name or God’s name.

It is a well-known fact that in Christendom and Christianity there are many denominations which do not like the sight of others. Many denominations are convinced they are the only ones who carry the truth and shall have their followers ‘going into heaven‘. In Christendom we also do find several fundamental Christians who threaten others with hell, a place of eternal damnation (according to them) where those who will not convert to their faith will be forever tortured by hell-fire. Because of so many accusations concerning our believe in and our relationship with  Christ Jesus thrown at our face, we wanted to make it more clear what we think about the Nazarene rabbi Jeshua, who is today better known as Jesus Christ. At the sites where nasty things were written about me, my believes, my faith and the Christadelphians, I mostly was silenced and could not defend myself nor the Christadelphians, nor all the Christians who, like me do not believe in a Holy Trinity.

Reasons to start this blog

Messiah for all 2015 Feb 11For that reason, wanting to bring a clear picture of the Biblical character Jesus, at the beginning of 2015 I started looking for a new platform to present texts which could justify our way of thinking and could open the eyes of others, offering them also the material from the Bible, the infallible Word of God, itself. In our eyes the Bible is the best tool to bring guidance and insight. After we shall have introduced general introductory texts, about the Word of God, presented in the Book of books, the Bible, and about the Creator and creation in general, we shall present more Biblical fragments by our explanations and when we shall come to the period of the New Covenant and New Testament we shall go step by step through the Messianic Writings (or Kethubim Bet or Kethuvim Bet), using the words of those Godly writings to show who Jesus is, what he has done and what he is still going to do, plus what he means for us, for mankind and for the whole creation.

More than once we have been and still are accused of being haters of God and being haters of Jesus, which made it so important to proof to you and the world that we carry our heart on the right place and do love Christ with all our heart, really appreciating what he did and acknowledging his position as sent one from God, who liberated the world from the curse of death. with this website we want to show you and those who come along that we are a loving group of worshippers of God who live peacefully as united people under Christ, being part of his body and not belonging to this world but to the world of Christ and the world of God, the Divine Creator.

Getting away from the starting bloc

Having tried out several starting blocs we are now on our way with WordPress. – Pressure-sensitive starting blocks at the start line of the 100 metres at the 2007 Pan American Games in João Havelange Olympic Stadium.

After looking at and trying out several systems of blogging I came to chose the trusted WordPress system and published my first article on February 10, 2015 looking back at several try outs, with the title “A beginning with many false starts”.

Many Christians do believe that Jesus created the earth and several of them also are convinced that this creation process exactly took six 24 hours periods, whilst many atheists are convinced everything started from something (or nothing: Something from nothing) with a big bang. To get to know more about the creation and What or Who is behind it we started looking at the world from its conception. To uncover all the creation myths we started from the Book Genesis (Genesis Among the Creation Myths) and continue from there onwards. the whole proces also brings us to look at gods or a god and The God of gods (The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods)

Some may say

“The Eternal Laws of Creation are exact to the minutest detail because they are the expressions of the perfect Will of the Almighty! Where uncertainties and imperfections are found they only arise from man’s limited understanding and application!” {Eternal Laws of Creation #8…..likes repel, opposites attract!}

Dissociative identity disorder.jpg
Being one or more, not feeling at ease in the body others can see

This uncertainty often frightens man. The not knowing for sure brings up many questions, doubts and lots of insecurities. We are very limited in our thinking and handling. But we should trust more in the given Word to humanity. With this blog we want others also to see how we as human beings fit in the whole universe and in the Plan of God. We want to show how Christ is The Way to God and the Way to life and how we do have to become in Christ to become a whole person and not a split one in this world full of controversy.

By the Will of God

There exist the the popular belief that creation and everything in it (its fullness thereof) exist through the Will of a Creator (variously known as Supreme Intelligence, the Light-Cause, the Almighty, God, etc.) and supervised by the Laws of the Creator! {Eternal Laws of Creation #2…….Omniscience and eternal laws!}

Usually, Light messengers, prophets, masters, etc. mediate or, hand down rules and observances to guide their followers in living aright! Without doubt, these rules have beneficial spiritual relevance especially if they are received from Luminous Heights like the Biblical Ten Commandments! They are infallible guidelines for the human spirit living on earth and in the immediate beyond but, not meant for the literal, one sided interpretations many believers give to them! {Eternal Laws of Creation #2…….Omniscience and eternal laws!}

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Saint Peter Parish: Shrine of Leaders

Man has taken himself many leaders, guides and people who presented lots of dogma‘s they were willing to accept as part of their belief, because they think we otherwise would not comprehend God. Many Christians do thrive on dogmatic teachings. We may have many scholars and theologians in this world but may not forget the promised Spirit to enlighten us.

Man can not do anything without god letting it happen. this is also for the work we try to do to get the work of God be known at more places on the earth. the first ten months of the existence of this blog we could find readers in 66 countries. Most visitors came from The United States (1048). United Kingdom (111) & Australia (88) came before Belgium (62) and the Netherlands (16) which became behind Canada (64), India (35) and the Philippines (27).

With His Will God spans everything, maintains everything, and furthers everything from out of the Living Law which brings to each individual that which he deserves, i.e., that which he wove for himself! {Eternal Laws of Creation #2…….Omniscience and eternal laws!} And we want to knit some good duvet to keep us warm in cold Winters (figuratively speaking). In the times coming we do know we are going to enter a hard time, coming closer to the end times.

Writings and Readings

In the ten months this blog existed in 2015, there were 76 new posts, not bad for the first year!

Coming nearer to the end the messages we want to send in the air are necessary. Jesus asked his followers to go out into the world to preach the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God. Bringing that Gospel of the Kingdom of God we, with several writings, want to bring your thoughts to the teaching of Jesus, remembering the days that our father Abraham rejoiced that he would see Jeshua’s day. (John 8:56). Throughout the years we do hope to present our writings in such a way that you and others might come to “see” the coming day.

Remembering what Paul told the Corinthians

“we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

we dare to ask our readers to look beyond our writings. We want to challenge you and our other readers to go looking in your own or their Bible and to compare what is said in that book and what you believe at the present or believed in the past.

We sincerely hope throughout the years we shall be able to build up some followers and find more people coming to the Biblical Truth. As such we also do hope that in our readings (followed by meditation) of God’s Word, we shall be able to be “clothed with gladness” – a gladness that flows out from the relationship we have developed with our Lord.

Invitation

Therefore we do invite you to looking with us at the Source of joy. Our most commented on post in 2015 was The very very beginning 2 The Word and words. In it we looked at the Bereshith, the book of the Beginnings or Genesis where is not said “gods” created, but is spoken of a Singular Person Who speaks and Makes or brings into being. He is the Supreme Being of beings. The One Whose Words we want to resound all over the world, not just in those few countries we are reaching at the moment.

We commit our selves and want others also to commit themselves to the trustworthy Creator, coming to see man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose.
As many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus let us going over the texts presented here and looking at the Bible passages mentioned see the bigger picture.

As our world falls apart – more and more – we are going to need to sense the importance of becoming active partakers of the Body of Christ. As we are trying to do our best in the name of Jesus we want you to work with us to “work together with him” (2 Corinthians 6:1), that the Most High Lord His Guiding Hand is there and our

times are in His hand”.

Looking towards 2016 and beyond

We hope to find you back here more than once and hope you too may have your heart in the right place and have like us a brightly burning faith.

In the Bible we have the assurance that we may have good hope and that God preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Let us therefore be strong, and let our and your heart take courage, all you who wait for Jeshua, the Kristos or Christ to return!

In the meantime have a look at our statistics for 2015, the first ten months we presented this blog and offered our readers 76 posts.

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The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,700 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 28 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

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Please do find additional reading:

  1. Looking for Free Blogs and blogging
  2. February 2015 got new little lights shining on internet
  3. Crisis man needed in this world
  4. Wanting to live in Christ’s city
  5. Blindness in the Christian world
  6. A voice and a Word given for wisdom
  7. Priority to form a loving brotherhood
  8. Not words of any organisation should bind you, but the Word of God
  9. Who are Christadelphians
  10. What are Brothers in Christ
  11. Christadelphian people
  12. Old orthodox Dissenters and Unitarians in 19° Century London
  13. Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
  14. United people under Christ
  15. Guelph a center of Christadelphia now in database
  16. The Toronto East Ecclesia
  17. Reasons why you may not miss the opportunity to go to a Small Church

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Also of interest

  1. Nothingness
  2. Blackness, nothingness, something, void
  3. Accommodation of the Void
  4. “Before” and “after” the Big Bang
  5. Different principle about the origin and beginning of everything
  6. Looking for a primary cause and a goal that can not offer philosophers existing beliefs
  7. Other stories about the beginning of times
  8. Genesis Among the Creation Myths
  9. Why believing the Bible
  10. The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
  11. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
  12. The Word being a quality or aspect of God Himself
  13. Why think there’s a God? (1): Something from Nothing
  14. Why think there is a God? (2) Goldilocks Effect
  15. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1:1-7 Help from God our Maker
  16. Creation of the earth and man #9 Formation of man #1 Cure of souls
  17. Creation of the earth and man #10 Formation of man #2 Mortal bodies and Tartarian habitation
  18. Creation of the earth and man #11 Formation of man #3 Infant salvation and non-elect infant damnation
  19. Creation of the earth and man #12 Formation of man #4 Constitution of man
  20. People Seeking for God 1 Looking for answers
  21. People Seeking for God 2 Human interpretations
  22. People Seeking for God 3 Laws and directions
  23. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
  24. Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life
  25. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
  26. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
  27. Being Religious and Spiritual 6 Romantici, utopists and transcendentalists
  28. Of old and new ideas to sustain power and to feel good by loving to be connected and worship something
  29. Theologians and a promised Spirit to enlighten us
  30. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
  31. A Church without Faith!
  32. Faith antithesis of rationality
  33. God’s word…is a comfort to the one who yields to God’s will
  34. Holiness and expression of worship coming from inside
  35. Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
  36. Commit your self to the trustworthy creator
  37. Bric-a-brac of the Bible
  38. Science and Religion Harmonized (Once and For All…)
  39. How to falsify a religion using scientific or historical evidence
  40. Something Most False Christians Have In Common
  41. Bible containing scientific information
  42. Do you believe in One god
  43. God does not change
  44. Misleading Pictures
  45. A Triple God or simply a rather simple One God
  46. History of the acceptance of a three-in-one God
  47. Altered to fit a Trinity
  48. Does there have to be a Holy Trinity Mystery
  49. Preexistence in the Divine purpose and Trinity
  50. A promise given in the Garden of Eden
  51. God demonstrates his own love
  52. Man’s plans prevailed by God’s purpose
  53. God has visited His people
  54. God’s Special Gift
  55. He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
  56. Do not be afraid. Good news because a Saviour has been born
  57. Christ begotten through the power of the Holy Spirit
  58. Apple of Gods eye
  59. No Other Name (But Jesus)
  60. The Real Christ
  61. About a man who changed history of humankind
  62. Which man is mentioned most often in the Bible? Jesus, Moses, Abraham or David?
  63. Yahushua, Yehoshua, Yeshua, Jehoshua of Jeshua
  64. Lord or Yahuwah, Yeshua or Yahushua
  65. Who was Jesus?
  66. Jezus, Yeshua, Yahushua
  67. Jesus spitting image of his father
  68. The meek one riding on an ass
  69. What did Jesus sing?
  70. What Jesus sang
  71. Christ’s ethical teaching
  72. Believing what Jesus says
  73. Was Jesus Religious
  74. Jesus and His God
  75. Yeshua a man with a special personality
  76. A man with an outstanding personality
  77. How is it that Christ pleased God so perfectly?
  78. Swedish theologian finds historical proof Jesus did not die on a cross
  79. Impaled until death overtook him
  80. Jesus three days in hell
  81. Jesus is risen
  82. Risen With Him
  83. The redemption of man by Christ Jesus
  84. Christ’s coming
  85. Revelation 1:8 – Who is Speaking?
  86. Americans really thinking the Messiah Christ had an English name
  87. Some Christians do have problems with the Christian connection with Jews
  88. Others that hinder the message
  89. Have you also been deceived
  90. Can we not do what Jesus did?
  91. Let us become nothing, and Christ everything
  92. A rebellious movement founded on a fake?
  93. Seeing the world through the lens of his own experience
  94. Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
  95. A Living Faith #12 The Love for Jesus
  96. Together tasting a great promise
  97. The one who set the standard
  98. A Jewish Theocracy
  99. Writers needed to preach to non-believers
  100. Worship God only
  101. Life and attitude of a Christian
  102. A Living Faith #9 Our Manner of Life
  103. Let me keep to “first importance” things
  104. Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark
  105. The Belgian Christadelphian ecclesia sites 2015 in review
  106. Broeders in Christus 2015 in review
  107. From Guestwriters 2015 in review
  108. Stepping Toes 2015 in review
  109. Belgian Bible Students review of 2015
  110. Bijbelvorsers Blogging annual report and 2015 in review

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Further related articles

  1. Truth recovered?
  2. Who are the Christadelphians? are Christadelphians a cult?
  3. The #Christadelphians – YouTube
  4. God’s Roadmap To Peace!
  5. Development or Deviation?
  6. Major Life Influence #1: Being Raised Christadelphian
  7. A Vital time for Christadelphians to watch
  8. “God is faithful and He will not let … ” Thoughts from today’s Bible readings – August 28th
  9. ‘Christ’s warning to Christianity‘ Come out from the Apostate Church! The Time Is At Hand
  10. Enfield Ecclesia
  11. behind the name
  12. Worship of Jesus, relative or absolute?
  13. Duties of a child missionary in Guatemala
  14. Thoughts from dwayne0531
  15. I Peter 5:14: Lovely Talk
  16. I died for beauty
  17. Jesus at your door knocking, and whoever heard him and open shall have life.
  18. Admonition
  19. Nation of Deception: Part Two
  20. Restore The Fallen, Don’t Kill Them Off
  21. Daily bible passage – 10/26/15
  22. …And the Broad Way to Destruction Widens

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Means of creations

In the different cultures habiting this planet we can find many symbolic narratives of how everything came into being. Lots of stories were created to give people an idea how the world might have began and how people first came to inhabit it.

Mythology is an important feature of every culture. Various origins for myths have been proposed, ranging from personification of nature, personification of natural phenomena to truthful or hyperbolic accounts of historical events, to explanations of existing ritual.

Creation on the exterior shutters of Hieronymus Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights (1480–90)

Concerning the myths telling about the beginning of the universe we have to notice that in most of them there is no mention of a ‘oer god’ or ‘primal god’. The primitive gods in the myths all seem to come from something, be it an egg or other element of nature. The rudimentary elements all seem to be ignited by some force or by a reaction to an action.

In most of the creation stories we can find the same element over and over again: first having disorder or chaos and than coming bit by bit more order and structure in things. Most of them seem to agree on the ‘dim’ past or the ‘darkness‘ and ‘chaos‘ there must have been. Only in moderner versions we notice the trend to come to a a static universe with a finite space but all seem to look at it as an unbounded (analogous to the surface of a sphere, which has a finite area but no edges). This spheric idea might perhaps brought the dust-ball, fireball or egg in some stories. people also have been intrigued with darkness and light, intrinsic luminosity or the brightness of an object or surroundings caught the eye and attention. For this reason also in many stories we can find several figures to be spoken of as being a light in this world. Also in Christianity we find such a referral to Jesus for example, him being the light in this world and him being a new creation. (About that light and New Creation later more.)

We always should remember that it are ‘Creation myths‘, stories trying to explain things we human beings can not understand yet? It does not mean that there would not come a time that we shall see more clearly in to the matter. Science develops and more and more people come to see further in history and start finding more out about creation, telling us how things began. We always should keep in mind that those stories about creation are told in metaphorical terms to explain our sense of who we are in the context of the world, and in so doing they reveal our real priorities, as well as our real prejudices. Our images of creation say a great deal about who we are.

Modern science has propounded many theories as to how the primieval gaseous substance evolved into the present harmony of the universe. These theories may be called scientific cosmogonies; and the account of the origin of the world given in Genesis, i and ii, is styled Mosaic cosmogony. {Cosmogony}

Scientists investigate cosmology with the tools of empiricism and rationality, but creation myths define human reality in very different terms. They were also written in pre-scientific times where the oral story to get most of the people a good idea was more important than the accuracy. Moses in the same way did not want to give a detailed explanation how everything exactly came into being. In a certain way is that not so much of importance for humankind or for how we cope with life. The Book of books is there to give mankind a guide, a manual for life, not a scientific study book.

While creation myths are not literal explications they do serve to define an orientation of humanity in the world in terms of a birth story. They are the basis of a worldview that reaffirms and guides how people relate to the natural world, to any assumed spiritual world, and to each other. The creation myth acts as a cornerstone for distinguishing primary reality from relative reality, the origin and nature of being from non-being. {Sproul, Barbara C. (1979). Primal Myths. HarperOne HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 978-0-06-067501-1, p. 6}

The Old Testament story brings us the founding-stone and in the New Testament the evangelist John tries to build further on it and continues in the lines of the First Creation, looking at a New Creation, in both instances having a voice out of darkness bringing light. Moses and John focus on that Voice, uttering words, and by bringing out the Word having the things or persons coming into existence. As such we hear that God spoke and it came into being. There was darkness and God spoke in the darkness and there was light. The Word of God sounded and heavens and earth came into being. In the same way God Spoke and the first living creatures came squirming through waters and earth. Wriggling elements started filling the world, in the air (heavens), on the ground and in the waters.

Science can only give a fairly dry description of the physical processes underlying creation. Science never has any intention to go looking behind the core element of what they can see. They are not primarily interested in looking for a godhead behind everything. They probably shall also not be able to come to the finest details of creation and to reveal God’s role.

Aker, an ancient Egyptian personification of t...
Aker, an ancient Egyptian personification of the horizon. Two lions symbolize ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’ with the sun-disk rising between the symbolic horizon between them. The hieroglyph for ‘sky’ spans across the top. Based on New Kingdom tomb paintings and the book of the dead. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesus also tried people to understand that God His Ways are not catchable for our limited human brain. He also wanted us to reassure us we should not worry too much about certain matters. It is good to investigate things. But by doing our research we may never forget the most important matter in life. Jesus also wanted to sooth his followers reassuring them we can trust The One Who is behind everything, and that He has provided for everything to be able to live and to be part of this creation and shall be fitting in the Plan of God.

Mat 6:24-34 NHEBJE  “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.  (25)  Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  (26)  See the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of much more value than they?  (27)  “And which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?  (28)  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They do not toil, neither do they spin,  (29)  yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these.  (30)  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith?  (31)  “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’  (32)  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  (33)  But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  (34)  Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Too many Christians are loosing site of the essence of the Word of God, by going to deep into details, wanting to explain those things which are not essential for faith. We do not need to know exactly what came first and how and how it really looked like and what it had to eat or how it ate. It is sufficient to know Who was behind everything and how He let it evolve to come to the situations where it is today and how it shall still evolve in the coming years or centuries. We may not forget that after the prophesied Word War III or Armageddon there shall still be another thousand years, where we shall probably have to face a further evolution.

In the old times it was enough to tell in an easy way how things are. As such we get in Psalm 139 a description by the Psalmist’s own creation in his mother’s womb. A great deal is known about how babies form, and it is clearly through natural processes — but at the same time, Psalm 139:13 describes that God wove the embryo himself. But the Bible doesn’t tell us how God creates things, and Psalm 139:6 suggests that we couldn’t understand even if he told us.

Psa 139:13-16 NHEBJE  For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.  (14)  I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.  (15)  My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth.  (16)  Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.

God was and is everywhere. No human being, no animal nor plant can hide from Him. God is an all-knowing God without any limitations. We shall have to face our own limitations which are different for each of us.

Psa 139:2-12 NHEBJE  You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.  (3)  You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  (4)  For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Jehovah, you know it altogether.  (5)  You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.  (6)  This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.  (7)  Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?  (8)  If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!  (9)  If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea;  (10)  Even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.  (11)  If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me; the light around me will be night;”  (12)  even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.

We might even be limited to come to understand the deepest thoughts of the Creator, but being created in His image, The Creator wants us to get to know Him and has given us His Word, the Bible to tell us that He is The Creator God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah Who is One and Who created all things (e.g. Isaiah 45:12, Hebrews 11:3), and why He created them.

Isa 45:11-13 NHEBJE  Thus says Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands!  (12)  I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and I have commanded all their army.  (13)  I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward,” says Jehovah of hosts.

God His word is there for us to receive enough information to continue. While many people would like to know more, that limited information in the Book of books is what God chose to tell us.

Having God’s Word we should be able to find the most essential things for life and should we able to find reasons enough to trust this Divine Creator. With those Words we should have enough building-stones to create our fortress of trust in God. those Words should take us and nit us a life of faith, worthy of the Divine Creator.

Heb 11:1-3 NHEBJE  Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.  (2)  For by this, the elders obtained testimony.  (3)  By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.

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Preceding articles:

  1. Background to look at things
  2. The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods
  3. The very very beginning 2 The Word and words
  4. Scripture about Creation and Creator Deity
  5. How Many Persons Created the Heavens and the Earth?
  6. God, the Father, the Sole Creator of Heaven and Earth
  7. From waste and void coming into being by God’s Word
  8.  Something from nothing

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Additional reading:

  1. God’s forgotten Word 3 Lost Lawbook 2 Modern scepticism
  2. Creation Creator and Creation
  3. Other stories about the beginning of times
  4. Creator and Blogger God 1 Emptiness and mouvement
  5. Serve him without fear
  6. Written to recognise the Promised One
  7. Searching, light, fear and deliverance
  8. You Need Light for Your Path
  9. Increased in wisdom in favour with God
  10. Is it “Wrong” to Believe that the Earth is a Sphere? Inclusive the first generation of Christadelphians their views
  11. Bible containing scientific information
  12. The mythical conflict of science and Scripture (1)
  13. The mythical conflict of science and Scripture (2)
  14. Science and the Bible—Do They Really Contradict Each Other?

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  • Mythicism Making Christianity More Meaningful (vridar.org)
    He sounds a lot like Thomas Brodie who as a continuing practicing Roman Catholic finds the truth of the Christ Myth adds a new dimension of meaning to his faith. So will those people who imagine that “mythicism” is a plot by angry atheists to destroy Christianity please come to their senses! Some of us really are more interested in exploring the evidence for the sake of understanding. (See also an earlier post of mine: Is the Christ Myth a Threat to the Christian Faith?)
  • Living by the myths (renewamerica.com)
    When one thinks of myths, the mind typically races to those classical tales of the ancient Greek and Roman gods. In the Roman Pantheon were stories of the way the universe, the world, the gods and mankind came into existence. The story of Deucalion and Pyrrha is the Greek myth that supplants the biblical story of Noah and the Flood. Many scholars believe the reference in Genesis chapter 6 to the fame of “mighty men, men of renown,” and their many exploits may be the roots of much classical mythology.Often myths of old were an alteration of what God had actually revealed concerning himself. Distortion, perversion, and counterfeit are the ways of the deceiver, Satan.

    However, myths are not exclusive to antiquity. Every culture has them and they are the means by which people seek to explain the world in which they live.

  • Accepting Scientific Explanations (venitism.blogspot.com)
    If Adam did not literally exist, then he did not literally commit the first sin, thus there’s no need for Christ to die on the cross and the whole Bible collapses.This argument, which is indeed short-sighted, may well be the reason why hardline Christians cling so hard to Creationism in the first place and why the science-denial involved in it has become one of their two big emphases at present.
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    The funny thing is that Christianity as a whole neither rises nor falls on a literal reading of Genesis–only fundamentalism/evangelicalism does. Their leaders have chosen to pin their entire religion on something this comically erroneous. The fight is not between atheists and Christians, or even between science and religion, but rather between those who understand and accept scientific explanations for our universe and those who deny and/or misunderstand those explanations. And there are Christians in both of those camps. Christianity itself isn’t the enemy; zealotry is. Indeed, we must not fall into the trap of thinking that Creationism is any sort of monolithic belief; even when surveys ask Christians what they think about the subject of evolution and the universe’s origins, a lot depends on precisely how the questions get asked. When asked questions in a way that doesn’t threaten Christians’ compartmentalizations of religion and science, they tend to fall along more sensible lines.
  • House of Cards and the ‘Old Testament’ God (stream.org)
    Frank Underwood, after asking for a moment to himself to contemplate the priest’s message, looks defiantly up at the statue of Jesus and says that he rejects Christ’s offer because he sees it as weak and silly. Frank prefers the power-first-and-last “Old Testament God,” but only because he has molded Yahweh into his own perverted image. Like so many of us on a daily basis, Frank has created one straw-man version of God to like and one to hate, based entirely on his own craving for power and control.
  • Inhabiting Eden: Christians, Scripture, and the Ecological Crisis – Public Lecture to Discuss Faith-Based Environmentalism (prweb.com)
    While ancient people, including the community that produced Scripture, understood their deep connection with and dependence on the natural world, recent generations have lost much of this wisdom. The environmental choices humans make do affect the future. She will explore paths to a renewed awareness of humans’ place on earth.
  • A Unification of Creation and Evolution (robertjrgraham.com)
    When people say that “god created the heavans and the earth in six days and on the seventh he rested”, who can say how long one of god’s days is. Why are we so egotistical as to believe that his day is the same as our’s. We don’t know god (Most of us who believe in god do so because we want to not because we have proof.) but if there is a god why can’t his, her or it’s day be a thousand or a million or even several billion of our years.Chapter 2, verse 7 of the book of Genises states “then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” It does not state how long this took or what form the being we call man originally took. God’s image can be many things. We have no way of knowing. Additionally, although the bible is supposed to be the word of god, it was written by humans and therefore subject to human interpretation.

    When we create something we start out with one thing and then add to it and alter it untill we finish and with some creations, such as a garden, we never finish adding to and altering it. Who says that god could not have started with one cell and through evolution added to it and altered it untill it became a human being. Who can say for sure that he, she or it is still not adding to and altering mankind. Who can say that god did not make us in such a way that we would continue to evolve without his, her or it’s intervention. Who can say that the process is finished.

  • Who Were The Real ‘Gods Of Eden’? (earthweareone.com)
    The Sumerian scribes and their Akkadian successors inscribed clay tablets with a wealth of information about the gods. One such text, commonly known by the name of its hero, Atra-Hasis, describes the background to the creation of man, when the gods themselves were involved in the painstaking extraction of minerals from Earth:

    “When the gods, as men, bore the work and suffered the toil – the toil of the gods was great, the work was heavy, the distress was much.”

    Conditions were so severe that, after 40 periods of hardship, the gods rebelled against their leader Enlil. A council of the gods was then called, at which the god Ea (alias Enki) provided the solution:

    “While the Birth Goddess is present, let her create a Primitive Worker, let him bear the yoke, let him carry the toil of the gods!”

    The ensuing passages of the Atra-Hasis describe what appears to a modern-day reader as a cloning process, in which the goddess Nin-ti (‘Lady Life’) made fourteen pieces of ‘clay’ and impregnated fourteen ‘birth goddesses’.

  • anthropomorphic God or theomorphic humans (larrysmusings.com)
    In the Vedic philosophy/religion of India, the atman, or spiritual monad (soul), is qualitatively like God’s spirit.  It is eternal and imperishable.  The atman can exist in the spiritual universe or in the material universe (as in this world).  Quantitatively, the atman is infinitesimal when compared to God’s infinite Spirit, His infinite mystic power.So, too, we humans have bodies in the form of God’s.  Per the Vedic teachings, we are, in our human bodies with one head, two arms, and two legs, in the form that God has.  In Hindu religious art (both in paintings and in sculpture), Lord Krishna is sometimes depicted with 2 arms, and at other times is depicted with four arms – but always with one head, and two legs. Perhaps, this form is the most advantageous for consciousness to have experiences.

    So we see that it is not just in Christianity that we are told that humans were created in the image and likeness of God.  And, “in the image and likeness” encompasses both our spiritual component and our physical body.

  • The Old Testament: For and Against – A debate between Christopher Jon Bjerknes and Lasha Darkmoon (Part 1) (darkmoon.me)
    Christopher John Bjerknes launches an all-out attack on the Old Testament and tell you why he thinks this is an evil and dangerous book. Bjerknes can be described as an unabashed and indeed virulent anti-Semite.  He takes the line that the Jews themselves are an evil race, without any redeeming features, and that the Old Testament is one of the earliest manifestations of that intrinsic evil.
  • A Universe Not Made For Us – Carl Sagan on Religion [9:14] (ethicsvideolibrary.wordpress.com)
    Carl Sagan begins with a discussion of the variety of creation stories and how most heavens and hells are simple extrapolations of our own politics.  Instead, science is slowly discovering more about the world we live in.  And it turns out, the universe is more different than anything we could have imagined and, ultimately, does not care about us or in fact could care.

How Many Persons Created the Heavens and the Earth?

It is commonly believed that the One who speaks as the Creator of all things in Isaiah chapters 44 and 45 is the triune God consisting of three Persons. The language of Isaiah 44:24 cannot possibly be reconciled with the popular idea:

“Thus says the Lord (Yahweh) your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the Lord who made all things, who stretched out the heavens alone, who spread out the earth. Who was with me?’” (RV)

The implied answer is, of course, that no one was present with the one Lord in the act of creation. Yahweh stretched out the heavens alone. The Hebrew word rendered “alone” means “in a state of separation, by one’s self” (Brown, Driver and Briggs, Lexicon of the Old Testament, p. 94). No one assisted God, the Father at the creation. Moreover, the Creator is one Person, not three:

“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?” (Malachi 2:10).

Nowhere does the Old Testament speak of a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead.

Elsewhere in the Old Testament it is said:

“You, God, even You alone, You have made the heaven…the earth and all things” (2 Kings 19:15).

“You are the Lord, even You alone; You have made the heaven, the earth and all things” (Nehemia 9:6).

The Lord God is always distinguished from the promised Messiah. They are never said to be members of one Godhead.

English: a Venn diagram-like symbol for the Ch...
Venn diagram-like symbol for the Christian Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit) a so called monotheism but having a triune god (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This simple information should prevent us from ever believing that Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, was present with the Father when the latter created the heavens and the earth. The idea that Jesus actually created the heavens and earth of Genesis 1:1 has been promoted by the Worldwide Church of God. Their teaching was that there are two members in the one “God-family.” Isaiah 44:24 (cited above) clearly states that ONE person alone created the heavens and the earth. Language has no way of expressing this more distinctly.

Trinitarians hold that the second member of the triune God was instrumental in the creation of Genesis 1:1. This, however, contradicts the statement that the one Creator was the Father (Malachi 2:10, cited above).

When Jesus came into being at his birth he enjoyed a unique communion with his Father. Thus he says,

“I am not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32).

Jesus always speaks as a person distinct from his Father, exactly as every son is an individual separate from his father. The personal “I” of the New Testament never refers to the Father and Son together. So also in the Old Testament the personal “I” refers to one Person, not three.

Jesus prays that the disciples may be

“one even as we [the Father and I] are one” (John 17:11).

This is a unity of purpose and will. Jesus prays also:

“May they [the disciples] all be one as You, Father, are in me and I in You, so that they may also be in us” (John 17:21).

It is obvious from these texts that the Father and Son use the ordinary personal pronouns to distinguish themselves as any father and son would. It is thus beyond question that Jesus was not with the Father when the latter described His act of creation:

“Thus says the Lord [Yahweh], your Redeemer…I am the Lord who made all things, who stretched out the heavens by myself…Who was with me?” (Isaiah 44:24).

Jesus did not exist as a person when the Lord God created all things. God, the Father, was alone responsible for the creation of the universe. (The “us” of Genesis 1:26, in connection with the creation of man, probably refers to attendant angels, cp. Job 38:7.) Most believers in the Trinity no longer use Genesis 1:26 as a proof of the triune God.

Jesus came into being as the Son of God when Mary conceived him supernaturally. Luke is careful to tell us that it was because of the miraculous conception in Mary’s womb, not because of any so-called “eternal generation,” that Jesus was the Son of God:

“Holy Spirit will come upon you [Mary] and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for that reason the child conceived will be holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

If God, the Father (the Lord, Yahweh of the Old Testament) was alone the author of the creation, why does the belief that Jesus was an active agent in the creation persist?

The answer is that two creations have become confused in the minds of Bible readers. Jesus is indeed the mediator of the New Creation (Colossians 1:15-18). But he is not the creator of the universe. That creation is the work of the One God, the Father who acted alone when He stretched forth the heavens and the earth (Isaiah 44:24).

Unfortunately, one or two verses in the New Testament have been translated to give the impression that all things were made “by” Jesus. In fact the original states that all things were made “through” Jesus (see the margin of Colossians 1:16: “in him,” “through him” and “for him,” not “by him”).

Jesus was indeed the reason for God’s creation. The Father “foreknew” him from the beginning (1 Peter 1:20). In God’s great purpose Jesus was “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). But he came into existence as the Son of God at his conception (Luke 1:35). There is no biblical text to support the idea that the Son of God was alive before his conception (though a few verses in John’s gospel have been used to support the idea).

When Jesus prayed to receive the glory which he had with the Father before the foundation of the world, he was asking for the glory which had been reserved for him and which he would receive after his resurrection (John 17:5). Peter speaks of an inheritance which is “reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). That inheritance is, of course, the earth which Jesus has promised to the meek (Matthew 5:5) and which he will give them when he returns to establish the Kingdom of God. The same glory which was planned for Jesus from the beginning had also been given already (John 17:22) to the disciples, even those not yet born! (John 17:20). This glory is a glory which all disciples “have” even though they have not yet received it. Similarly Jesus “had” glory laid up for him with the Father long before his birth. In John 17 he prays to receive it.

Isaiah 44:24 should settle forever the question about who created the universe, and Hebrews 1:10 should be read with careful attention to the fact that the writer says he is speaking there of the inhabited earth to come (i.e., of the future):

“God did not subject to angels the world to come of which we are speaking” (Hebrews 2:5).

There is no contradiction between the two Testaments on this issue. Jesus will indeed be instrumental in laying the foundations of the coming new heavens and earth (Isiah 51:16). But the original creation is the work of the One God, the Father, alone (Isaiah 44:24).

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Preceding articles:

The very very beginning 1 Creating Gods

Genesis 1:26 God said “Let us make”

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Additional reading:

  1. Pluralis Majestatis in the Holy Scriptures
  2. The Trinity – The truth (Video)
  3. God of gods
  4. Only One God
  5. God is one
  6. Sayings around God
  7. Attributes to God
  8. Use of /Gebruik van Jehovah or/of Yahweh in Bible Translations/Bijbel vertalingen
  9. The Divine name of the Creator
  10. The NIV and the Name of God
  11. 2001 Translation an American English Bible
  12. Reasons that Jesus was not God
  13. Jesus begotten Son of God #9 Two millennia ago conceived or begotten

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  • For once, AmChurchSpeak makes an important point: Lent is a journey to Calvary… (denvercatholic.org)
    For two weeks, the Letter to the Hebrews draws on images from the Old Testament to introduce us to that “great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God:” a mediator between God and humanity who “has been tempted as we are” and with whom we can “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” [Heb 4: 14-16]. Here, the biblical author writes, we find that “great cloud of witnesses” in whose company we are enabled to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” [Heb 12: 1] Here is “Mt. Zion … the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” to which we are brought through the mediation of Jesus, and where we join “innumerable angels in festive gathering” [Heb 12: 22].
  • The Liberation of the Triune God (derekzrishmawy.com)
    One of the helpful emphases of the Reformed tradition is its acknowledgment of the continuity as well as discontinuity of Old and New Testaments. This comes through very strongly in Turretin’s Institutes and even makes an appearance in his doctrine of the Trinity. After a couple of clarifying questions, as well as a lengthy question devoted to proving the doctrine of the Trinity from New Testament Scripture, he moves on to try and demonstrate the revelation of the Trinity in the Old Testament. For while it is admittedly true that God reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with greater clarity in New Testament, that does not at all mean that we cannot see him revealed as such in the Old as well.
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    There are a number of features worth noting in this treatment. The first is Turretin’s view of the Angel of the LORD, or the Angel of YHWH. As he makes clear in a number of places, Turretin views this as an appearance of the pre-incarnate Son. It is an appearance in angelic/human form that is, nonetheless, distinct from his incarnation in that there is no hypostatic union, but only concrete manifestation. Still, this is a thesis that Christian theologians have long appealed to in order to explain the way the Angel is both identified as a distinct agent who nonetheless is identified as the LORD somehow.
  • Learn From Christ (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
    To prove that He was the Son of God by turning stones to bread was not necessary for Jesus or for Satan. Satan already knows all about Jesus Christ.
  • The Beauty of John’s Prologue (christianity201.wordpress.com)
    The first 18 verses of John’s gospel (commonly known as the Prologue) represent a literary masterpiece of inspired Scripture. On the one hand, John’s introduction is so simple a child can understand it, yet it is also so theologically deep, the most intellectual scholars could never mine every detail held within its verses.

    incarnationThere have been many debates regarding the structure of John’s prologue. The most convincing in my opinion is that the first 18 verses are a narrative which summarize not only the entirety of John’s gospel but make a broad sweep of salvation history. The prologue begins in eternity before creation, declaring that in the beginning the Word already existed. It proceeds through the creation (all things were made by Him) and He is the source of all life and light. Then John skips over the majority of Israel’s salvation history and shows that a final prophet, John the Baptist, came to testify to the light. This light is the revelation of God Himself. He came into the world and was rejected by the world. Yet, those who received Him became the sons of God.

    The prologue finishes by showing the culmination of Israel’s salvation in Jesus. The law (which was itself a grace given to men) came through Moses but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus has completely explained the Father. Jesus is the Father’s final word to man. – This culminates salvation history. So, we see that the prologue begins in eternity past and concludes with God’s final word of salvation and redemption.

  • The Day Son of God Jesus Preaches (brentkuhlman.wordpress.com)
    Now is the perfect time for Jesus to flex His Son of God muscles. Pull out all His divine Son of God stops. Unload the whole enchilada of His almighty Son of God power to break the bonds of systemic oppression, bust Locusts and Wild Honey out of jail, overthrow the wicked Roman oppressors and establish a Son of God millennial utopian reign that would make all community organizers of the world jealous!
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    You’re in charge of your own life. You’re in full control. The master of your universe.

    That’s precisely why Son of God Jesus preaches. With Him the promised and long awaited kingdom of God has come! God reigns on the earth in Jesus. God is at hand! It’s Messiah Time!  And it’s perfectly obvious then that you need a preacher – Against Your Wishes! Against Your Desires! Against Your Idolatry! Otherwise, … well, let’s just say it will all end hellaciously for you. You’d be held captive eternally – kept under lock and key — in Satan’s gloomy prison!

  • Names, Titles, and Characters of Jesus Christ (goodnewsnow.wordpress.com)
    The Blue Letter Bible has published a page with information taken from the whole Bible about the God we worship, Jesus Christ.   Seeing all the names, titles and other attributes with which he is labeled in both the Old and New Testaments and contemplating those titles and their meaning to me personally is a wonderful way to worship Him.  Worshiping Him is what we are made for.  Worshiping Him is what those who know Him will do for all eternity.  These Name, Titles and Attributes allow practice in this life.