Previously, I looked at the use of the word Elohim. Although it has a plural suffix, when referring to the God of the Israelites it is surrounded by singular verbs, adjectives, and pronouns. This type of structure in the Hebrew language indicates that the noun is not plural, but majestic, superior, great, or absolute. The noun itself is still singular, as shown by its verbs, adjectives and pronouns, but it's meaning is magnified.
Throughout the Bible, God repeatedly tell the Israelites that He is the only God to be worshipped. And this is the essence of the first commandment:
Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before [besides] me.
And yet, the WMSCOG will show you the word Elohim and its plural suffix and insist that there are two Gods. They try to prove this using a few verses where God speaks and refers to "us" or "our":
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...
The WMSCOG combines this with Gen. 1:27 to try to show that there is both a male and female God. I'll deal with that another day. But right now I just want to see whether these verses talk about two gods or one. God talks about "us" making man in "our" image. Does that mean there are plural Gods?
Do you see the part just before that which says, "Then God said"? The "said" in that phrase is singular--He said. If there were plural Gods, it would have been a plural verb--They said. And then look a little farther to verse 27. I'm going to type it out here--notice what I've put in bold:
So God [He] created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
If there were truly two Gods, this passage would have said, "God [they] created man in their own image, in the image of God they created him; male and female they created them." But it doesn't. There is only ONE God.
Genesis 3:22 (in the Garden of Eden)
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil....
Genesis 11:7 (the Tower of Babel)
Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
Isaiah 6:8 (Isaiah's Commission)
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“ Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
In these verses, God talks about "us" again. Is there more than one God? No. Every time we read that Elohim said something, it is ALWAYS a singular verb--He said. We also read that He (not They) sent Adam from the Garden of Eden, that He (not They) scattered the people from the Tower of Babel, and that He (not They) answered Isaiah.
There is only ONE God.
Why would any singular individual talk about themselves as "we" or "us"? It happens. I'll write about that next time...
Click here to go on to Part 3.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Elohim, Part 1
The WMSCOG points the the Hebrew word "Elohim" to prove that there are 2 Gods, a "Mother God" and a "Father God". They say that since the word "Elohim" has a plural ending, that it must mean there is more than one God, and then they go about to try to prove the existence of "Mother God." (Incidentally, other groups use this same word to try to prove a God family or other polytheistic doctrine.)
But they don't tell you the whole story about the word Elohim and the language structure around it.
If you have studied any foreign languages (as I have), you know that not all languages have the same type of structure and grammar. In English, you can usually tell when a noun is singular or plural by looking at the noun itself and at the verb it's paired with.
The fast boy runs.
The fast boys run.
It is less noticeable in the past tense when the verb doesn't change at all. Both the boy and the boys "ran."
But in Hebrew, the changes are more significant when singular becomes plural. You can notice the plural form also in the adjectives and the verb (whether it's present "run" or past tense "ran"). All the words that refer to the noun become plural. (It's similar in German, Spanish, and many other languages.)
So in Hebrew, you would see it more like this:
The fast (plural) boys (plural) (they) ran.
The word Elohim, although it is a noun with a plural ending, is not always used with a plural meaning. When it refers to God, it is accompanied by singular adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.
The Hebrew language uses what is called a "majestic plural" or "plural intensive" in which a noun with a plural suffix is accompanied by singular adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. In these cases, it does NOT indicate a plural number, but that the singular noun is superior, majestic, great, mighty, or absolute.
This is not unique to the word Elohim. Here are a few other nouns (there are more!) that have a plural ending, but are used in a singular sense:
The word used for "life" in Gen. 27:46 and Job 10:12
The word used for "righteousness" in Isa. 33:15
The word used for "master" in Isa. 19:4
It's also interesting to note that "Elohim" is used to refer to Moses in Exodus 7:1. Is Moses a plural? No.
Elohim is used to refer to God more than 2000 times in the Bible and is accompanied by singular verbs, adjectives, and pronouns in all but a handful of those instances. I'll talk about the few exceptions next time.
Through the whole of the Bible, God consistently makes the point that He is the ONLY God to be worshipped--ONE God. I do believe in the Trinity, but in that there is still only ONE God.
To take the word Elohim, and say that since it has a plural suffix, there must be two or more true Gods...well, that shows a superficial understanding and a lack of scholarship. It also indicates a poor knowledge of the structure of the Hebrew language.
Think about it--wouldn't you want the person who is giving you all the "secrets and mysteries" of the Bible (such as "Mother") to understand Hebrew!?
If you'd like more resources about the word Elohim, try these links (I'll also list them in my "study helps" page):
"Elohim, Plural or Singular?"
"You Can Prove What Elohim Means"
"The Hebrew Name for God--Elohim"
Click here to go on to Part 2.
But they don't tell you the whole story about the word Elohim and the language structure around it.
If you have studied any foreign languages (as I have), you know that not all languages have the same type of structure and grammar. In English, you can usually tell when a noun is singular or plural by looking at the noun itself and at the verb it's paired with.
The fast boy runs.
The fast boys run.
It is less noticeable in the past tense when the verb doesn't change at all. Both the boy and the boys "ran."
But in Hebrew, the changes are more significant when singular becomes plural. You can notice the plural form also in the adjectives and the verb (whether it's present "run" or past tense "ran"). All the words that refer to the noun become plural. (It's similar in German, Spanish, and many other languages.)
So in Hebrew, you would see it more like this:
The fast (plural) boys (plural) (they) ran.
The word Elohim, although it is a noun with a plural ending, is not always used with a plural meaning. When it refers to God, it is accompanied by singular adjectives, pronouns, and verbs.
The Hebrew language uses what is called a "majestic plural" or "plural intensive" in which a noun with a plural suffix is accompanied by singular adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. In these cases, it does NOT indicate a plural number, but that the singular noun is superior, majestic, great, mighty, or absolute.
This is not unique to the word Elohim. Here are a few other nouns (there are more!) that have a plural ending, but are used in a singular sense:
The word used for "life" in Gen. 27:46 and Job 10:12
The word used for "righteousness" in Isa. 33:15
The word used for "master" in Isa. 19:4
It's also interesting to note that "Elohim" is used to refer to Moses in Exodus 7:1. Is Moses a plural? No.
Elohim is used to refer to God more than 2000 times in the Bible and is accompanied by singular verbs, adjectives, and pronouns in all but a handful of those instances. I'll talk about the few exceptions next time.
Through the whole of the Bible, God consistently makes the point that He is the ONLY God to be worshipped--ONE God. I do believe in the Trinity, but in that there is still only ONE God.
To take the word Elohim, and say that since it has a plural suffix, there must be two or more true Gods...well, that shows a superficial understanding and a lack of scholarship. It also indicates a poor knowledge of the structure of the Hebrew language.
Think about it--wouldn't you want the person who is giving you all the "secrets and mysteries" of the Bible (such as "Mother") to understand Hebrew!?
If you'd like more resources about the word Elohim, try these links (I'll also list them in my "study helps" page):
"Elohim, Plural or Singular?"
"You Can Prove What Elohim Means"
"The Hebrew Name for God--Elohim"
Click here to go on to Part 2.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Babies and Angels
I'm working on a post about "Elohim", but something happened last week, and I need to address the "we were once angels" doctrine instead today....
The WMSCOG teaches that all humans were first angels living in heaven with God. There in heaven, they committed a terrible sin and were cast down to live a human life here on earth as punishment.
If you study with them, one of the points they will bring up about this concerns babies who die very young. They say, if the wages of sin is death, why do very young babies sometimes die before they have had an opportunity to sin? It's because they have already sinned in heaven, they say. The ramifications of this doctrine are truly horrible! Here's why...
Last week, a family where I work went through that very event. I don't know them personally, but I know their story. I won't depress you with all the sad details, but the baby died within an hour of being born. Besides them, my friend and her husband had a baby who died at about 10 weeks old, and my brother-in-law and his wife had a baby who died the day he was born. If you pause a moment, you can probably think someone who has dealt with the tragedy of a child dying far too young.
When we read in the Bible that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), we understand it to mean that not only do we have to deal with the consequences of our own sin, but that the world itself is suffering and groaning under the weight of sin (Romans. 8:22)--hence natural disasters, disease, and the like...including the death of babies.
The Bible declares that even a newborn baby is born with a natural tendency to sin (Psalm 51:5), and it doesn't take too long before it shows up in action. (If you don't think this is true, then perhaps you've never had a child of your own.) But we still believe in the "innocence" of babies because we know they lack true understanding. We know that children are special to God (Mark 10:14), and we trust that if a child dies young, God will be a fair and loving judge. We have definite hope to see these children in heaven.
But in the WMSCOG, what hope is there for these babies who die, these families who mourn? If the baby was previously an angel who sinned and was sent to earth to die for its sin, then his/her death was deserved and he/she has no hope for heaven. I wonder what kind of comfort the WMSCOG can give to those families. Maybe..."That's too bad. Your baby must have committed a really terrible sin in heaven to deserve such a quick death."??
How awful is that?!? Maybe some like this doctrine because it's a nice idea to think that you lived in heaven once, but if you think about it this way, it is not nice at all.
Thankfully, it not a true teaching of the Bible. The WMSCOG uses misinterpreted and twisted Scriptures to support this doctrine. Don't fall for it!
The WMSCOG teaches that all humans were first angels living in heaven with God. There in heaven, they committed a terrible sin and were cast down to live a human life here on earth as punishment.
If you study with them, one of the points they will bring up about this concerns babies who die very young. They say, if the wages of sin is death, why do very young babies sometimes die before they have had an opportunity to sin? It's because they have already sinned in heaven, they say. The ramifications of this doctrine are truly horrible! Here's why...
Last week, a family where I work went through that very event. I don't know them personally, but I know their story. I won't depress you with all the sad details, but the baby died within an hour of being born. Besides them, my friend and her husband had a baby who died at about 10 weeks old, and my brother-in-law and his wife had a baby who died the day he was born. If you pause a moment, you can probably think someone who has dealt with the tragedy of a child dying far too young.
When we read in the Bible that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), we understand it to mean that not only do we have to deal with the consequences of our own sin, but that the world itself is suffering and groaning under the weight of sin (Romans. 8:22)--hence natural disasters, disease, and the like...including the death of babies.
The Bible declares that even a newborn baby is born with a natural tendency to sin (Psalm 51:5), and it doesn't take too long before it shows up in action. (If you don't think this is true, then perhaps you've never had a child of your own.) But we still believe in the "innocence" of babies because we know they lack true understanding. We know that children are special to God (Mark 10:14), and we trust that if a child dies young, God will be a fair and loving judge. We have definite hope to see these children in heaven.
But in the WMSCOG, what hope is there for these babies who die, these families who mourn? If the baby was previously an angel who sinned and was sent to earth to die for its sin, then his/her death was deserved and he/she has no hope for heaven. I wonder what kind of comfort the WMSCOG can give to those families. Maybe..."That's too bad. Your baby must have committed a really terrible sin in heaven to deserve such a quick death."??
How awful is that?!? Maybe some like this doctrine because it's a nice idea to think that you lived in heaven once, but if you think about it this way, it is not nice at all.
Thankfully, it not a true teaching of the Bible. The WMSCOG uses misinterpreted and twisted Scriptures to support this doctrine. Don't fall for it!
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