Galatians 4:26 -- Part 2

Galatians 4:22-26
"For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.  His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise. ... Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.  But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother."

The logic that the WMSCOG uses to interpret this verse is complicated (to me, at least). It's going to take several posts to cover it all. I'll take it step by step...

Their first step towards their conclusion that this verse points to "Mother God" is to say that Abraham represents God in the Bible.  To do this they go to the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man from Luke 16.

Luke 16:22-24
“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.  In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham...'"

On their website page about "Heavenly Mother," the WMSCOG says,
"Lazarus was obviously carried to God's side after he had died; however, the Bible sates that Lazarus was carried to Abraham's side.  In the parable, the rich man, who went to hell, called up to God in the distance; however, the Bible states that the man saw Abraham, and called up to him, saying, 'Father Abraham.'  Who is the only one who is worthy to be called 'Father' in the spiritual world?  God is the only one who can be called upon in this way.  Then, whom does Abraham represent?  Logically, the character Abraham was chosen to represent God."

Does Abraham represent God?  Is that why he's called "father" in the spirit world and why Lazarus is described as being taken to Abraham's side?  No...
Abraham is the physical father of the whole Jewish nation:
No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. (Gen. 17:5)

"Father" was not just a word used for a person's direct father.  Their grandfather, great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather, and all of their forefathers were also called "father."
God spoke through Joshua to the Israelites about their "father Abraham" even though they were many generations removed from him:
But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac... (Joshua 24:3)
Here are more references to "Father Abraham": John 8:56; Acts 7:2; Romans 4:12; James 2:21.

God spoke again to the Israelites through Isaiah about their father Abraham:
look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was only one man, and I blessed him and made him many. (Isa. 51:2)

In my culture and in my family, we are not accustomed to calling our grandfathers "Father," but we do make a big deal of them on Fathers Day every year along with our immediate fathers.  I have heard many interesting stories about great-grandfathers I never knew, and I am excited at the prospect of meeting them one day in heaven.  Is there any reason to think we won't be calling our own earthly fathers by the names we've always known them?  Dad, Daddy, Papa, Grandpa, Gramps, Father?

Now imagine what it is like for an Israelite who has grown up with stories of their great ancestral father, Abraham....  How they might long to meet Abraham in heaven and call him Grandpa, Father.  This is a different sense of the word than calling God, "Father."  Can you see?

In the parable, Lazarus was carried to "Abraham's side" to show that he was in heaven with Abraham.  It's interesting to look up the phrase "the bosom of Abraham."  The rich man called Abraham "father" because he was Jewish and Abraham was his great-great-great...grandfather.

Then, as the WMSCOG asks, whom does Abraham represent?
Abraham represents Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish nation.

The WMSCOG's first misinterpretation here is to assume that Abraham represents God.

Click here to go on to Part 3.