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I don't think anyone would disagree the persona of the god portrayed in the Old Testament is completely different than that as portrayed in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament there appears to be the pre Moses and the post Moses God. The one commandment even states that he is a jealous God.
In addition one needs to refer to the original language script portrayed in the Bible.
Take the word, Elohim. The -im ending means that it is plural, like cherubim and seraphim. Elohim means "gods", not "god". That means an accurate translation would read:
“In the beginning, the gods created heaven and earth.”
That is contrary to what most Christians believe. You have both EL and Yahweh being portrayed in the Old Testament. In fact, there is some evidence that the ancient semetic languages work closely enough related that Elohim and Allah have the same origins. There is a little question that other gods were in the picture. Certainly Baal was recognized, as the commandment said should there be no other gods before you - meaning Yahweh.
No, the word Elohim, while plural does not imply more than one God when referring to the true God. Rather, it pertains to plurality within the Godhead. In other words, that one God exists in three Persons. There are a number of Old Testament verses in which Elohim speaks of Himself in the singular - as I, or Myself.
Verses which show that plurality within the singular God are;
Exodus 20:2 I (anoki - I, Myself - singular) am the LORD (Yahweh) your God (Elohim- plural), who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Exodus 29:46 "They shall know that I (ani - I, Myself - singular) am the LORD (Yahweh) their God (Elohim- plural) who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I (ani - I, Myself - singular) might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God (Elohim - plural).
Jeremiah 32:38 and they shall be my people, and I (ani - I; Myself - singular) will be their God (elohim -plural):
Hosea 13:4 Yet I (anoki - Myself - singular) have been the LORD (Yahweh) your God (Elohim - plural) Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god (referring to false gods - idols) except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
Psalm 81:10 "I (anoki - I, Myself - singular), the LORD (Yahweh), am your God (Elohim - plural), Who brought you up from the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
In these verses Elohim (plural) speaks of Himself in the singular, not as themselves in the plural. The one true God (Elohim) exists as three distinct Persons without separate existence. Three Persons united in essence or nature.
Last edited by Michael Way; 09-28-2013 at 04:10 PM..
The only thing that changed from the OT to the NT for God was the authority in the earth , as God only had limited authority in the earth in the OT as the devil claimed authority by the fall of man , and so the earth was some what wrecked for God as there was no one to take what the Lord had to give because God was separated by the sin issues , so faith was stalled , so all God could do was ask man to kill their enemies who sin to remove the sin from Gods people so God could still interact with the men who were listening ................. Where in the NT Jesus came as a Shepard for follower and established a judgment by the cross of Christ in which sin could be remove and intercession for God grace could now flow , so OT killing people in wars and genocide of sinners for relationships to be held was now not needed , as NT Jesus could fight the wars through the spirit being removed out , still God needs the people in the righteousness of Jesus to claim the grace which God needs to give .................... See God could of took complete control of the earth and dictated to the robotic people his claim , but that was never the character of God , as control was abusive for God and believers need to ask God to lead them in a control and God did not want to control , but His honor was always held up as a majesty of heaven ................... Still there have been times in the NT in which martyr of Christians have been over done which fear and curses are not being redeemed through Jesus in which fear and curses of the martyrs will block the grace of God
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Originally Posted by thrillobyte
cupper, I'm sure you are aware that earliest Judaism was polytheistic. They had at least two gods, similar to Sumer and Zoroastrian but eventually centered on Yaweh:
This shows that the Jews were worshiping other gods in their religion but that YHVH was to be their only God, so over time they dropped all the others after centuries of punishment by the true God. By the time the Old Testament got written down circa 600 BC in Babylonian captivity all the other gods had pretty much disappeared.
This is why God at times in the earliest period of Judaism appears almost schizophrenic--merciful, yet bloodthirsty; loving, yet quick to anger and to destroy. This is not schizophrenia, of course, but the blending of two gods--one merciful, one wrathful--into one encompassing God who exhibits both traits at the proper time, according to the lore.
I quite aware of the Zoroastrian influence on rulers like Darius, and of course by extension, to the Jews of Babylon. There seems to be a good evidence that the religion of Mithraism as practiced by the Persians also impacted the Jewish philosophy on religion.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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Originally Posted by Vizio
Because there are 3 persons in the Trinity. One God, 3 persons. The NT says the same thing. It shows Jesus as God, as well as the Spirit.
Then why wasn't Moses, who had a close relation to God, aware of this?
It wasn't until Isaiah that we see even a hint a prophecy.
Moses only knew that his men would be so happy with all of those 32000 virgins they're allowed to keep. I mean, even the Muslims only get 72 virgins, and they gotta be dead before get theirs.
This sounds true but thankfully it is not. What's always been the same is our misconception about the heart of God and His attitude towards us. How do we know this?.by the life of Jesus Christ who was and is the exact representation of who God really is ( Heb 1:3). For this same Jesus Christ displayed 100% God's heart towards those who had lost their way and desired to be back in the way, yet those who thought they were not lost and had the way all worked out through their beliefs, doctrines and traditions,he 100% of the time shunned.
Fancy that !!! .
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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Originally Posted by pcamps
This sounds true but thankfully it is not. What's always been the same is our misconception about the heart of God and His attitude towards us. How do we know this?.by the life of Jesus Christ who was and is the exact representation of who God really is ( Heb 1:3). For this same Jesus Christ displayed 100% God's heart towards those who had lost their way and desired to be back in the way, yet those who thought they were not lost and had the way all worked out through their beliefs, doctrines and traditions,he 100% of the time shunned.
Fancy that !!! .
Well you know what they say, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof.
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