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Mysteries of the Holy Bible
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coram_deo 06-Aug-21, 19:36 |
 Mysteries of the Holy BibleBut who was Jacob’s wrestling opponent? An angel or God Himself? Jacob’s wrestling opponent does not identify himself (as Jacob requested,) but blesses Jacob (as Jacob also requested) and renames Jacob “Israel.” “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.“ (Genesis 32:24-32) I know of a few mysteries in the Bible, but the next few posts in this thread are going to be about this first mystery - who did Jacob wrestle? |
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coram_deo 29-Aug-21, 18:38 |
“Did Jacob wrestle God, an angel of God, Satan, or one of his angels? A pivotal moment in history is when Jacob wrestled with a ‘man’ and was afterwards given the new name ‘Israel.’ We read in Genesis 32:28-30, ‘Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ And he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ Then he said, ‘Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him, ‘Tell me, I pray, your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And there he blessed him. So, Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ Jacob said, ‘yet my life is preserved’ because of the belief that no one could see God’s face and live because of His Holiness in contrast to our worldliness (Exodus 33:20). This is an important part of understanding who Jacob fought. Seeing God face to face has a deeper layer of meaning in the Bible than what a reader may think at face value. Moses is understood to be the only one who saw God physically and not in a vision (Ex 33:11), which reveals an exceptionally close relationship. When God turns His face away from you, you are in trouble, but if He faces you, it means that there is no blockage between you and your Maker. For instance, Jesus said that the pure in heart will see God (Mt 5:8), and according to Revelation those who gain entrance to heaven will finally see God’s face (Rv 22:4). This is why the first commandment is to have no other gods before Yahweh. So what did it mean when Jacob said he saw God’s face? Was it literally, or in a vision, and was it during the fight or after? Moreover, was the ‘man’ he fought God, an angel, or an adversary from the dark side? The usual Christian understanding is that Jacob struggled with God because he named the place ‘face of God’ (meaning of the Hebrew word ‘Peniel’). Additionally, the prophet Hosea had this to say, ‘The LORD has an indictment against Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways, and requite him according to his deeds. In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God. He strove with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with him — the LORD the God of hosts, the LORD is his name: ‘So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.’ (Hos 12:2-6), Hosea reflects that the wrestling match was related to Jacob’s misdeeds earlier in life and his subsequent redemption. A common Jewish understanding of the struggle is that Jacob had a vision or a dream about his conflicts with Esau. This was perhaps why he wept and then ‘met’ God—suggesting he saw the face of Yahweh after the fight. It is important to know too that the word translated as ‘met’ has the primary meaning of ‘found.’ Ancient Hebrew does not have punctuations so this part from Hosea could potentially read, ‘He strove with the angel and prevailed. He wept and sought his favor, he met/found God at Bethel, and there God spoke with him.’ If so, perhaps this describes how Jacob wept and sought God’s favor, not the man’s, and then found God. In other words, the man was not God. The problem with such a reading, however, is that the Genesis account describes Jacob asking for the man’s blessing. Hosea also makes it clear that Jacob wrestled with an angel. While most angels are good, Satan is presented in the Bible as a fallen angel of the highest order—a cherub—who has his own legion of angels (Ez 28:12-18, Mt 25:41, 2 Co 11:14, Rv 12:7). Angels are also called ‘sons’ of Elohim and an angel can also be called a ‘man.’ Case in point is the angel Gabriel (Dn 9:21, Lk 1:19). The word translated as ‘favor’ regarding the angel is likely meant as a synonym to the blessing Jacob asked for in Genesis. But it can also mean ‘pleaded.’ If so, what did Jacob plead for? If the angel represented God, it could be forgiveness for sins, yet that becomes odd if Jacob won the battle. If it was an adversary—a dark angel—he might have pleaded for him to leave him alone for good. If Jacob fought God, why would Yahweh appear as a man to fight Jacob at night and put his hip socket out of place to win? Wouldn’t God, or one of His angels, easily win over Jacob? Instead, the man fighting with Jacob lost. Hosea said God would punish Jacob because of his ways and deeds, but did he send His angel to punish him with a fight or did he allow the adversary to go after him? By all indications, Jacob fought a supernatural being. Perhaps the struggle itself, emphasized by the man coming at night, can be understood as Jacob’s struggle with evil. It was embodied in this man who came between him and God as an opponent. When Jacob won the fight, he conquered evil which enabled him to see Yahweh face to face. On the other hand, if the man were an adversary, why would Jacob want his blessing, and would an enemy have the right to give Jacob a new name? An adversary of God cannot give a blessing, which is why many take this to mean that it was an angel of God who could bless him once he passed the test. Yet, then we are back to asking why God, or an angel of God, would fight Jacob and if so, how could Jacob win? In the Bible, Satan tempts and attacks humans while God allows us to be tested. An exception is when God tested Abraham directly by asking him to sacrifice Isaac. But there are crucial differences between that and Jacob’s wrestling match. There was no middleman with Abraham, and as soon as God knew Abraham would do His will, He stopped him from performing the act. God did not stop the man wrestling with Jacob. If God sent this test and Jacob was losing would God have stopped the fight? If it was a devious being who fought Jacob, the purpose may have been to physically kill him and deprive him of his God-given destiny. What other reason would there be for a wrestling match? God could allow it without endorsing it, meaning the ‘man’ was not acting on God’s behalf. Though Jacob won, he did not kill his opponent because you cannot kill an otherworldly creature. The shadow-man asked Jacob to let him go as the day was breaking, which signals that he operated only in the dark. This implies that he was malevolent, along with the fact that he did not want to reveal his identity. Jacob then asked the man to bless him. If Jacob’s victory meant he defeated evil he may have demanded that the shadow-man bless him as a way to force this opposing entity to admit defeat. In the Bible, it is not only God who pronounces a blessing. Although all that is good comes from God, it may simply mean that the subject affirms the object to be endowed with power for success and all that entails (Gn 24:60, 2 Sm 13:25). It can also have the nuanced meaning of ‘praise’ or ‘salutation’ (1 Sam 13:10). Though praise, salutation or an acknowledgment presents a more strained interpretation, it is at least worth considering due to the other theological questions. It has been suggested that the shadow-man is portrayed as God in the preserved Hebrew Scriptures because scribes removed personified evil to protect monotheism. But, this is undercut by the central role Satan plays in the Book of Job (Job 1:6-12). Instead, Job may be the perfect parallel to understand that God allowed the adversary to test Jacob, just like He did with Job. Both Jacob and Job are heroes in the Bible because they prevailed. After the shadow-man declined to reveal his name, he instead asked why Jacob wanted to know it. That is an odd question if it was a good angel and a contrast to the angel Gabriel who readily announced his name. In battle it is crucial to know who the enemy is. If Jacob fought God, whether as a test or form of punishment, it still does not make sense that he won and received a blessing because he physically beat God. Instead, the shadow-man’s anonymity, amplified by operating in the dark suggests bad intentions. Moreover, why did the man ask Jacob his name? Wouldn’t God, or an angel of God, already know it? It seems that Jacob’s name was related to the meaning of both his old and new name. Jacob means either ‘supplanter’ or ‘he who follows.’ It could allude to how he stole, i.e. replaced, Esau’s birthright or how he was born second to his twin Esau. This is a reminder of a broken past and being second. No one knows for sure what Israel exactly means because it is only used here and in Hosea. It is a compound name with El (God) and the root of the name is usually translated as ‘striven’ (Gn 32:28) but note that it is not the same word as ‘wrestle’ (v. 24). It is also understood with the nuance ‘contend’ or ‘persist.’ The name change can therefore signify the internal transformation of Jacob. The name Israel is a tribute to how Jacob prevailed in a struggle. In that sense, it was also a prophetic name for the coming kingdom and nation of Israel and the persistence it would have in the future to face obstacles and evil from outside and within. If the man gave Jacob the name Israel because he ‘persisted with’ God, instead of ‘struggled with’ God, the context of this battle could mean that Jacob wrestled with a dark angel, i.e. the adversary, but persisted for God and that God was with him. If so, the new name was an admission from the ‘man’ that Jacob won and Israel signifies victory over evil with, and for, Yahweh. Considering all this, I think it is most likely that Jacob fought the enemy of Mankind, Satan. If the meaning of Jacob’s new name was ‘struggling’ with God and men, it could refer to how he had struggled with evil in the past and fought his own demons culminating in this clash. But if Israel means that he ‘persisted’ with God it signals how Jacob fought to live when he battled the shadow-man. This is what I think it means. It was the ultimate fight against evil. Because Jacob overcame, he was able to see God face to face with nothing now between them. Whether he saw God directly or in a vision, the importance of winning this fight was redemption. When the shadow-man blessed Jacob it was an acknowledgment where the nameless dark entity had to admit defeat before escaping the oncoming daylight. It indicated the triumph of light over darkness, which is eternal. Jacob won the fight because he was determined to live and defeat evil. He did not give up and succeeded because he chose life and God. Yahweh was with him, not against him.” blogs.timesofisrael.com |
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coram_deo 30-Aug-21, 18:34 |
So while the consensus view seems to be Jacob’s wrestling opponent was Jesus Christ or an angel from Heaven, I’m not inclined to believe either one, simply because Jacob’s wrestling opponent lost. It seems, based on the one article I posted, to be at least plausible that Jacob was wrestling with either a demonic spirit or Satan. Anyway, I’ll probably look more into that in the future, but there’s another interesting mystery in the Holy Bible I wanted to post about, which is… |
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coram_deo 30-Aug-21, 19:14 |
Did Jesus Write The Book of Hebrews?! Now it’s true a case could be made that Jesus Christ, as a member of the Trinity, wrote the entire Holy Bible because the Bible was written by men under the inspiration, guidance and control of God’s Holy Spirit. But the minority view believes Jesus Christ physically wrote the book of Hebrews after His Resurrection but before His Ascension and did not use a man as an agent through which to convey His message. First, I’ll post the reasons why some believe the author of Hebrews was Jesus Christ Himself. This article states that most scholars do *not* believe the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Hebrews and that Paul being the author of Hebrews has been “disproven,” both of which are news to me. Here’s the article: “The Epistle to the Hebrews is perfectly written at the highest intellectual level, and yet its authorship is a complete mystery. Not even modern, sophisticated analysis of authorship can suggest a plausible writer for this great work. Whoever wrote this apparently wrote virtually nothing else. Scholars agree that Paul certainly did not write this. It was written after the Passion of Christ, as made clear by its references in the past tense to Jesus's work, yet before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In contrast with all other epistles and letters in the New Testament, it is a misnomer to call this the ‘Epistle’ to the Hebrews. It is not a letter; there is no introduction, and it reads like a sermon. Nor was it formally addressed to the ‘Hebrews’; its teachings are for all. Reasons to conclude that Jesus wrote this book are: • The author quotes Jesus in the first person: ‘Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ • The first chapter compares the role of Jesus to that of angels, which only He would know about and emphasize. • The author makes observations about Jesus that only Jesus himself could make, and does so in the present perfect progressive tense to convey his ongoing presence at the time, such as ‘in every respect [Jesus] has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.’ • This book has the largest number of unique words not used anywhere else in the New Testament: 154. This suggests its authorship was unique also, neither relying on nor writing anything else. • This sermon appears identical to the sermon given by Jesus on the road to Emmaus, referring to Jesus in the third person. Given that Jesus said this sermon for two travelers, it makes sense that He would write his sermon down for the benefit of all. The length of this Epistle -- about 90 minutes if spoken naturally and thoughtfully with pauses, questions, and interruptions -- matches the length of the brisk walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus as nightfall approached as described in Luke 24:13-35. • By describing Hebrew culture in perfect Greek, this has Jesus' trademark intellectual style of overcoming ostensibly insurmountable barriers, analogous to His walking on water and turning water into wine. • The tone of authority is greater than in any other letter in the Bible, as in Hebrews 9:27: ‘It is reserved for men to die once, and then be judged.’ • This Epistle was written before any physical persecution of the disciples: ‘In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (12:4) Stephen was martyred around A.D. 37, merely a few years after the Crucifixion of Jesus, so this Epistle was written before then. But there is indication to some afflictions having had occurred prior to this Epistle. It is quite possible this Epistle was written prior to the Ascension, during Jesus's time here. • This Epistle uses the same distinctive phrase once used by Jesus as quoted in the Gospel of John, which reinforces the likelihood of his authorship. • The writing has a ‘striking purity of language and elegance of Greek style,’ and ‘is a treasure-house of expressions characteristic of the individuality of the writer,’ using ‘168 terms ... which appear in no other part of the New Testament, among them ten words found neither in Biblical or classical Greek.’ There is not a single grammatical flaw in the entire work, despite its complexity. • It is a playful enigma: a message to Hebrews written in perfect Greek, a miracle of an intellectual nature. Why isn't this message to Hebrews in the Hebrew language? It shows that God does have a sense of humor, and a highly intellectual one, like the encounter on the road to Emmaus. • The substance of this work is a firsthand account of Jesus becoming man, subsequently crying out to God to save Jesus from real death, which God then did by intervening; only Jesus could have described this; the work quotes Jesus' thought process, which only Jesus would know. • Jesus occasionally visited the Apostles during this time, but spent most of this time doing something else - perhaps writing this Epistle? • The Epistle was directed at the Hebrew population, which was Jesus's first priority in His ministry. • Jesus was surely capable of writing a great work, and there is no other known written work by Him. • It is fitting that Jesus would make one last attempt -- post-Resurrection -- to persuade the Hebrew people for whom His ministry was originally intended. • In light of the rejection of Jesus by some Hebrew leaders, it makes sense that Jesus would write a post-Resurrection letter to the Hebrew people anonymously. • The Epistle to the Hebrews is unique in its attempt to explain the concept of faith -- something that Jesus emphasized in His ministry, and perhaps only He could explain as this Epistle does. • Jesus spent 40 days on Earth between the Resurrection and the Ascension, and it is implausible that He did not continue His ministry in an effective way. Writing (or distributing) an Epistle is the most plausible activity, given what had transpired. • Many have attributed the Epistle of James to a brother of Jesus, and if His brother wrote a letter, then why wouldn't Jesus? • Hebrews 5:5 quotes something that God said directly to Jesus, which no one else would know. • The sermon/writing was likely intended for an audience in Jerusalem, which is where Jesus was most focused. • Hebrews 13:19 apparently refers to the return of Jesus in the first person: ‘But I beseech you, please do this, that I may be restored to you more quickly.’ • Unlike most other writings in the New Testament after the Gospels, there is no reference to post-Ascension events. • Ancient manuscripts refer in Hebrews 13:21 to God working among ‘you’, not ‘us’, which is what Jesus (rather than a disciple) would say. • ‘Amen’ was typically added later at the end of New Testament letters (and the Book of Revelation), which means that the ending following Hebrews 13:21 is almost certainly not part of the original. Someone probably thought this letter was by Paul (since disproven) and copied the endings from his letters (see, e.g., Titus). • The father-son analogy to explain the nature of God (Hebrews 7:4) was a personal favorite of Jesus in explaining life. • In Hebrews 12:4, the distinction between the speaker and the audience with respect to shedding blood in resistance to sin would have likely been only by Jesus: ‘You have not yet shed blood in resistance and striving against sin.’ • Any writing by Jesus would intentionally be anonymous, so that it does not eclipse the other valuable writings by disciples. • The Epistle to the Hebrews contains more warnings against apostasy than any other book in the Bible, as one might expect Jesus to emphasize. See Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31, 12:15-29. • The Epistle to the Hebrews is written in Jesus's style, as you can read in the Gospels: say the truth simple and straightforward, use comparisons, and put in some questions. If you pick any part in the Epistle to the Hebrews and compare and contrast it with Jesus's words in the Gospels, you will note this. • The Epistle to the Hebrews shows things no one had ever thought of before. It perfectly explains the Law and Prophets (which did Jesus in Luke 24), it shows Jesus's soul (which only Jesus could do), it explains important doctrines (which Jesus explained), it shows adoration and complete understanding of God (which only Jesus had) and reveals going-ons unknown to anyone else (like Jesus's entering of the Temple). In other words, it is written from Jesus's point of view. • It uses the Greek term ‘μυρίος’ in the sense of ‘infinite’ to describe the number of angels, which is sense different of the term different from its use in other biblical books.” conservapedia.com |
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coram_deo 20-Sep-21, 19:59 |
I think it’s clear Jesus spent at least part of that time in Heaven, according to what He told one of the thieves who was crucified next to Him. “And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43) So Jesus was in paradise for at least some the time before His Resurrection. BTW, note that the thief was saved by only his belief in Jesus Christ - no baptism, no good works. I once debated a salvation-by-works person and he argued that Jesus saw the thief’s future and that the thief would have done good works if he hadn’t been crucified. So ridiculous. (Reminds me of the contortions evolutionists go through to explain away problems with the theory of evolution.) But then this passage from 1 Peter indicates Jesus may have spent some time in hell, preaching to either demonic spirits or to lost souls who perished in the Great Flood. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” (1 Peter 3:18-20) From jacksonsun.com: After explaining Christ died once for the sins of everyone and was raised to life in 1 Peter 3:18, the following two verses say, “in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” “I looked this up, and even Martin Luther, who started the Protestant Reformation and was knowledgeable of Scripture, he even said in his own commentaries this is the most difficult passage in the New Testament to understand because it’s not very clear what Peter is trying to say,” Petty said. “You read through the chapter and you see ‘Christ died for everyone’s sins.’ OK I get that. “’He was raised to life in the Spirit.’ OK. I’m still with you Peter. And then he adds in, ‘And He went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed God long ago while Noah was building the ark.’ And I want to be like, “Hey Peter, can you go back over that again?’ But unfortunately that’s not going to happen at this point.” Based on the wording in 1 Peter, there’s an argument that Jesus spent the weekend between His death and Resurrection in Hell preaching to the souls who were already there, giving them a chance at the forgiveness available through His sacrifice not previously available before His death. www.jacksonsun.com Here’s got questions.org’s view of 1 Peter 3:18-20: If the spirits mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19 are fallen angels, then those spirits were probably imprisoned because they were involved in a grievous sin before the flood in Noah’s time—Peter mentions Noah’s flood in verse 20. Peter does not tell us what Jesus proclaimed to the imprisoned spirits, but it could not have been a message of redemption, since angels cannot be saved (Hebrews 2:16). If these were fallen angels, what Jesus proclaimed was probably a declaration of His victory over Satan and his hosts (1 Peter 3:22; Colossians 2:15). But there is another interpretation of the 1 Peter passage. In this interpretation, the “spirits” are people currently in hell, but Peter is not saying Jesus made a special trip to Hades/hell to preach or proclaim anything. Rather, Peter is giving parenthetical information about something Jesus had done previously in history, namely, that He had “in spirit” preached to the people of Noah’s day while they were still living on earth. That wicked generation heard the message, rejected it, perished in the flood, and are now in prison. The word now in 1 Peter 3:19 is provided for clarity in the Amplified Bible and the New American Standard Bibles of 1977 and 1995, and it contrasts with the “long ago” (NIV) and “formerly” (ESV) of 1 Peter 3:20. According to this alternate interpretation, Christ was in Noah (spiritually) when Noah preached to his doomed neighbors. To better explain, here is a paraphrase of 1 Peter 3:18–20: “Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but He was made alive in the Spirit (it was through this same Spirit that Jesus long ago preached to those who are right now in prison—those souls who disobeyed during the time of God’s great patience when Noah was building the ark).” According to this view, Jesus preached spiritually to the people of Noah’s time, and He did this through the prophet Noah, in much the same way that God speaks through us today when we proclaim God’s Word. www.gotquestions.org I like this explanation of 1 Peter 3:19 from enduringword.com: By whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, a. By whom: This means that Jesus was inspired by the Holy Spirit when He did the work of preaching to the spirits in prison. He was made alive by the Spirit, and then also did this work by the same Spirit. b. He went and preached to the spirits in prison: Apparently this work was done in the period after Jesus’ death but before His first resurrection appearance to the disciples. Jesus went to Hades – the abode of the dead – and preached to the spirits there. c. Spirits in prison: Though some have regarded these spirits as human spirits, it is more likely that they were demonic spirits. We know that their disobedience was in the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:20). We have evidence that this was a time of gross sin for both demons and humans, when there was an ungodly mingling of humans and demons (Genesis 6:1-2). i. “Apparently, the oldest identification of those imprisoned spirits understood them as the fallen angels of Genesis 6. That view was widely known and generally taken for granted in the apostolic era.” (Hiebert) d. Preached to the spirits in prison: We also don’t know exactly why Jesus preached to these imprisoned spirits. In all probability this was preaching (the proclamation of God’s message), but it was not evangelism (the proclamation of good news). Jesus preached a message of judgment and final condemnation in light of His finished work on the cross to these disobedient spirits. i. In doing this there was a completion in Jesus’ triumph over evil, even the evil that happened before the flood. The Bible says that even those under the earth must acknowledge Jesus’ ultimate Lordship. Here Jesus was announcing that fact: “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” (Philippians 2:10). ii. “We do not believe that Peter said that Christ preached the gospel to those imprisoned spirits; he taught that Christ announced His triumph over evil, which was bad news for them. For Peter’s readers, however, it meant comfort and encouragement.” (Hiebert) iii. “What His message was we are not told. Why only those disobedient in the days of Noah are mentioned is not stated. What the purpose or result of Christ’s preaching was, is not revealed. On all these points we may form our own conclusions, but we have no authority for anything approaching dogmatic teaching.” (Morgan) enduringword.com The Apostles’ Creed, an early church document not written by Jesus Christ’s apostles but that purports to state what they preached, also says Jesus visited hell in between His death on the cross and Resurrection: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.” www.gotquestions.org The main problem I have with the Apostle’s Creed is it doesn’t explicitly say Jesus Christ has existed eternally and was involved in the creation of Heaven and earth. The opening chapter of the Gospel of John makes clear Jesus has existed eternally (as Jesus Himself said indirectly and directly) and participated in creation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) Then this passage from Ephesians offers another explanation for what Jesus did between His death on the cross and His Resurrection: “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)” (Ephesians 4:8-10) From gotquestions.org: Some say this refers to an event not elsewhere described in Scripture, namely, that Jesus gathered all the redeemed who were in paradise and took them to their permanent dwelling in heaven. That is, after securing their salvation on the cross, Jesus brought Abraham, David, Joshua, Daniel, the beggar Lazarus, the thief on the cross, and everyone else who had previously been justified by faith, and led them from Hades (the abode of the dead in general) to their new spiritual home. Another view of Ephesians 4 is that ascended on high is a straightforward reference to Jesus’ ascension. Christ returned to heaven victoriously, as God. In His triumph, Jesus had defeated and taken captive our spiritual enemies: the devil, death, and the curse of sin. www.gotquestions.org And from enduringword.com: i. Some think that the phrase lower parts of the earth refers to Jesus’ preaching to the spirits in prison described in 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6. While this aspect of Jesus’ ministry in Hades following His work on the cross is true (and prophesied in Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:18), Paul did not necessarily refer to it here. enduringword.com For reference, here are the latter verses mentioned in the above paragraph: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” (Isaiah 61:1-2) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” (Luke 4:18) I think Jesus Christ, based on His statement to one of the thieves crucified next to Him, spent in Heaven at least part of the time between His death on the cross and His Resurrection. And I think a good case can be made that He also visited hell, though it’s not clear who He talked to and what He said. We know, though, that Jesus Christ holds the keys to hell and death: “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:17-18) |
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coram_deo 17-Oct-21, 09:28 |
I posted an article that suggested Jacob’s wrestling opponent was Satan, but these verses in the book of Hosea that I handwrote today say otherwise: “The Lord hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God: Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with us;” (Hosea 12:2-4) It’s interesting that Jacob’s wrestling opponent is identified in these verses as both God and “the angel.” Some Bible scholars and enthusiasts contend “the angel of the Lord” that appears in the Old Testament (the angel of the Lord being a messenger from God the Father) is Jesus Christ. If that’s true, then Hosea identifying Jacob’s wrestling opponent as both God and “the angel” would seem to imply that Jacob wrestled with Jesus Christ. The problem I’ve always had with that is Jacob won. And how could a mere mortal defeat God in a wrestling match? But this revealing commentary from enduringword.com suggests Jacob “won” by losing. Interesting! “b. In his strength he struggled with God: The prophet recalls the struggle between Jacob and the Man of Genesis 32:24-30. Jacob refused to submit to God, so God demanded submission from him in a literal wrestling match. i. He struggled with God reinforces a point already made clear in Genesis 32:24-30: Jacob wrestled with the LORD God, who appeared in human form as a Man. Since this was a unique messenger from heaven, He is also appropriately described as an Angel of the LORD. c. He struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept, and sought favor from Him: Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Hosea emphasized two more details from the Genesis 32:24-30 account. First, he told us that Jacob prevailed in the wrestling match. Second, he told us that Jacob wept in the struggle. i. It could be said that Jacob prevailed in the only way anyone can when they struggle against God. We prevail when we lose and know it, surrendering to God. ii. It is important to know that Jacob wept because it helps us understand how desperate and broken he was as he hung on the LORD, now pleading only for a blessing. d. So you, by the help of your God, return: Jacob came to the place where he knew God had beaten him, and all he could do was hang on to God and plead for a blessing. So you speaks to Israel, saying they should return to God the same way. i. By the help of your God, return reminds us that we can never even return to the LORD without His help. This shows how weak we are and how much we really depend on Him.” enduringword.com |