The Veiling and Future Revelation of God (Part 3 of 3)

I. In the Beginning
II. Before the Beginning, Formless and Void
III. Let There Be Light
IV. The LORD Surrounds Himself in Darkness On the Earth
V. The Self-Limiting of the LORD God in Creation
VI. The Word Became Flesh
VII. The Manifestations of the LORD
VIII. The Future Revelation of the Creator to the Creation

I have to begin with a quote I would have included earlier, but Teresa just found in her reading.

 

"In the full blaze of God’s light no free choice is possible. To get a world of free beings God had to hide his light. This is why ‘world’ in Hebrew is ‘olam’, which comes from a root meaning ‘to hide’.” (Strive for TRUTH, Rabbi Eliyahu E. Dessler, Parables and Meaning page 14). 

 

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

 

The Aramaic “Memrah” is consistent with the understood Greek concept of “Logos”. Logos is the power of the Creator working in the creation to accomplish the will of the Creator. “Logos” is translated as the “Word” in the gospel account of John and understood to be a reference to Jesus. In the fullness of time, the LORD sent forth the Son of God to earth to reveal the Father, (John 14:8-9).

 

When the apostle John wrote, “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14), he was building upon an understanding used over one hundred times in the Hebrew text such as, “The word of the LORD came to Abram” (Gen 15:1), “the word of the LORD came to Solomon” (1 Kings 6:11) and “the word of the LORD came to Isaiah” (Isa 38:4). The rabbis understood these passages to speak of some physical manifestation of the Creator since the “word of the LORD” was capable of instructing, questioning, and dialoguing with the prophet. The first use of the phrase, “The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision” (Gen 15:1), might provide an understanding for this type of visitation, “a vision”. The first appearance of the “angel of the LORD” came to Hagar, (Gen 16:10). To further add to the variety of manifestations, the LORD told Moses, “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My Name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them,” (Ex 6:3).

 

The earthly life of Jesus was the manifestation of the infinite God within the finite creation as had occurred elsewhere in scripture, with the exception that God came dwelling in the flesh. As such, Jesus limited the totality of His “Godness” to dwell among the creation, as it written,

 

“You have made Him for a little while lower than the angels” (Heb 2:7), and “Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men,” (Phil 2:6-7) and “Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was,” (John 17:5).

 

“Father, glorify Me…with the glory which I had with you before the world was” is a calling for the Logos to be restored to the fullness of the Godhead. Jesus is 100% God incarnate in the flesh, but He was not 100% of God because the totality of the Godhead had to limit Himself to come into the creation.

 

THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE LORD

 

The understanding that God appeared in scripture as the LORD, the Spirit of the LORD, and the Memrah of God are accepted Jewish concepts that mirror the Christian understanding of Father, Spirit, and Son. What differs between the Jew and Christian is how these appearances are defined. The Christian vernacular speaks in terms of three “persons” referred to collectively as the “Trinity”. The Jewish perspective speaks in terms of “Partzufim”, which imply faces, forms, configurations, or visages of a singular Divine. An alternate word might be “manifestations” or “aspects” of the one Creator, but not unique individuals. The writer of the Zohar said it this way:

 

“‘Hear of Israel; the LORD our God, the LORD is one’ (Deut 6:4), These three are one. How can the three Names be one? Only through the perception of Faith: in the vision of the Holy Spirit, in the beholding of the hidden eyes alone. The mystery of the audible voice is similar to this, for those it is one yet it consists of three elements – fire, air, and water, which have, however, become one in the mystery of the voice. Even so it is with the mystery of the threefold Divine manifestations designate by LORD God LORD – three modes which yet form one unity” (Zohar, Volume III Bo 43B. Soncino Press Edition, page 134, From Ben Burton)

 

An interesting parallel occurs in scripture with Satan. The Gemara defines the adversary in three terms: “Satan”, “the evil inclination (yetzer hara)”, and the “angel of death.” These three are considered as “aspects” of one identical force or being. Christian theology might define Satan in three terms as the “tempter” (Matt 4:3), the “accuser of our brethren” (Rev 12:10), and “death” (Job 2:6). Believers also recognize that Satan appears in the Book of Revelations as the force behind the first beast (the anti-Christ) that came out of the sea under the authority of the dragon (Rev 13:4), the second beast (the prophet) who comes out of the earth and “spoke as a dragon” (Rev 13:11), and the recipient of their collective worship (the dragon), (Rev 13:4). While believers might perceive multiple aspects of Satan’s influence, biblical scholars would never talk in terms of the “three persons” of Satan. So why is the Creator, who is greater, seen in this way in Christian theology?

 

The writer of Hebrews speaks of the Creator appearing “in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son,” (Heb 1:1). The writer of Hebrew speaks of many portions (Greek = polupoikilos, colors) and many ways (Greek =poma, drink), suggesting variations of the Creator, but not unique individuals. Even the phrase “His Son” should be understood in the human terms often ascribed to the Creator elsewhere in scripture to assist in our understanding, such as “eyes of the LORD”, the “right hand of the LORD”, and the “footstool” of the LORD. Without question the LORD “tabernacled” among men, but as the Memrah of the LORD.

 

Jewish anti-missionaries have questioned the ability of God to dwell in the flesh. They should look no farther than the “Memrah” of God contained in the Aramaic Targums. If God can dwell in an early temple made by man, how much more in a temple (a body) made by God. If God is capable of dwelling in early temple, how much more is He capable of indwelling the believer.

 

THE FUTURE REVELATION OF THE CREATION TO THE CREATION

 

The LORD God has revealed Himself to the creation, “in many portions and in many ways,” (Heb 1:1). He spoke in visions to the prophets, face to face to Moses, in the flesh among the disciples who “saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” (John 1:14). Scripture also holds the promise of a greater revelation from God the Father during the future days of the Millennial Kingdom.

 

Yet, the nature of a finite creation ultimately limits the ability of the creation to receive revelation from the Creator. To quote from the movie "A Few Good Men",

 

“You want the truth (revelation from God), you can’t handle the truth (revelation).”

 

The limitations of a finite creation, by definition, limit the ability of the creation to receive the full manifestation of the Creator in the world. Mere mortals are incapable of receiving a greater revelation from the Creator, as the LORD told Moses, “You cannot see My face, for not man can see Me and live!” (Ex 33:20).

 

To receive a greater revelation from the LORD, the creation itself must be changed, as it is written, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable,” (1 Cor 15:50). The creation must move from a state of finite corruption into a state of perfection, “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality,” (1 Cor 15:53).

 

Somehow, and I am unable to comprehend the particulars, the redeemed of the creation will progress to a future time when,

 

“When all things are subjected to Him (the Son), then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him (the Father), so that God may be all in all,” (1 Cor 15:28).

 

As the creation moves toward unity with God, “so that God may be all in all”, then the LORD God will no longer need to limit the revelation of Himself to the redeemed. Believers are destined to move from the present reality into a future time of great illumination in the presence of the LORD and the Lamb. How great? No one knows, as the rabbis often said in relationship to the world to come,

 

“Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him,” (1 Cor 2:9).

 

The only thing for certain, “We will always be with the LORD” (1 Thes 4:17), to “behold the beauty of the LORD,” (Psa 27:4).

 

(Scott)

The Veiling and Future Revelation of God (Part 2)

   I. In the Beginning
  II. Before the Beginning, Formless and Void
 III. Let There Be Light
 IV. The LORD Surrounds Himself in Darkness On the Earth
  V. The Self-Limiting of the LORD God in Creation
 VI. The Word Became Flesh
VII. The Future Revelation of the Creator to the Creation

THE LORD SURROUNDS HIMSELF IN DARKNESS ON THE EARTH

When Moses desired to see the LORD he was told, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Ex 33:20). The LORD then placed Moses in the cleft of the rock and covered Moses as the glory of the LORD passed by. The LORD veiled Moses from His glory, but allowed Moses to see a limited form of the Creator as He passed by in front of Moses.

 

Since no man can see the fullness of the LORD God, “My face”, and live, the Creator must limit himself to operate within the boundaries of a finite creation. To accomplish this, David wrote that the LORD, “made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him.”

 

“He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. And He rode on a cherub and flew; and He appeared on the wings of the wind. And He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.” (Psa 18:9-11)(2 Sam 22:10-13). A psalm of David about the LORD after he was delivered from the hand of Saul.

 

The believer might find it paradoxical to understand that the “Father of lights” (James 1:17), makes “darkness His hiding place” and surrounds Himself in a canopy of “Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.” If “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5), why is the LORD God compelled to surround His light in darkness?

 

Mere mortal men and women are not capable of dwelling in the presence and glory of the LORD God, as it is written, He “dwells in unapproachable light, who no man has seen or can see,” (1 Tim 6:16). If human beings are unable to stare at the sun, how much more beyond our power must it be to look at God Himself (Chul, 59b). Yet, the Creator desires to dwell among His creation and when He descends, “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him,” (Psa 97:2-3). After Abram “believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6), the LORD appeared to Abram surrounded by “great darkness,” (Gen 15:12). The writer of Hebrews describes Mount Sinai as, “a blazing fire…darkness and gloom,” (Heb 12:18). Notice the contrast of a “blazing fire”, while at the same time “darkness.”

 

Scripture takes a position that God has revealed Himself sufficiently for salvation, but not exhaustively that we should know all things about Him. Isaiah wrote of the LORD God, “Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!” (Isa 45:15). The Creator must hide Himself because the creation is not capable of standing in the presence of the creator. Further, the Creator limits His presence in the creation to give the creation the ability to act with freewill outside the overriding influence of the Creator, which would take away freewill.

 

Because the LORD hides Himself within the creation, we do not appreciate how close He resides, not far at all. If we could only peal back the darkness, pear into a different dimension, we would realize that God is right next to us, “the LORD is near,” (Phil 4:5).

 

THE SELF-LIMITING OF THE LORD GOD IN CREATION

 

When the infinite LORD God elects to manifest Himself in the finite creation, He must by design limit His Own nature. By example, the entire ocean cannot be poured into a cup, but a cup can contain a portion of the ocean. Likewise, a person can stick his finger into a cup, but the cup cannot contain the totality of the person. So it is with an infinite God in a finite creation.

 

When God appears in the Hebrew text He appears in a self-limited form often referred to as “the angel of the LORD,” (Ex 3:2)(52-times). Other titles include: the “glory of the LORD” (34), “presence of the LORD” (24), the “cloud of the LORD” (2), the “word of the LORD” (102), the “spirit of the LORD” (24), or simply “God”, “the LORD” and “the Spirit.” The writer of Hebrews describes these manifestations of God into the creation as “in many portions and in many ways,” (Heb 1:1).

 

The Jewish Targums, which are Aramaic translations of the original Hebrew text, often refer to this limited form of God that operates within the creation as the “Memrah” of God. The rabbis concluded a number of principles about the “Memrah” of God:

 

1. The Memrah was sometimes distinct from God and sometimes it was the same as God. This is reflected in the words of John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” (John 1:1).

2. The Memrah was the agent of creation, “All things were made through Him; and without Him was not anything made that has been made,” (John 1:3).

3. The Memrah was the agent of salvation, “But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12).

4. The Memrah was the means by which God interacted with mankind, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth,” (John 1:14)

5. The Memrah was the agent God used to communicated with man, “The word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision” (Gen 15:1), “The LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD reveled Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD” (1 Sam 3:21), and “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him,” (John 1:18).

6. The Memrah was the means by which God conveyed His covenants, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ,” (John 1:17).

(to be continued - Scott)

The Veiling and Future Revelation of God (Part 1)

   I. In the Beginning
  II. Before the Beginning, Formless and Void
 III. Let There Be Light
IV. The LORD Surrounds Himself in Darkness On the Earth
  V. The Self-Limiting of the LORD God in Creation
 VI. The Word Became Flesh
VII. The Future Revelation of the Creator to the Creation

The first chapter of Torah Club 5 inspired me to dwell on the following...

IN THE BEGINNING

Fundamental to the Christian faith is a belief that the power and presence of God are without limit. The words often used to express these attributes of God are “Omnipotent” and “Omnipresent” meaning that the infinite power of God exists in all places at all times. Therefore, God cannot be isolated or confined to a single location, as it is written, “‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ declares the LORD” (Jer 23:24). In the words of Solomon, “Who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him?” (2 Chron 2:6).

 

Yet, we understand from scripture that God came into the tent of Abraham (Gen 18:1), the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Ex 3:2), and the LORD dwelled above the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies (Ex 25:22). The Creator also appeared in the Hebrew text as the “angel of the LORD”, the “presence of the LORD”, the “glory of the LORD”, the “cloud of the LORD”, “God”, “the LORD”, the “Spirit”, and “the Word”. Fundamental to the life of believers is the understanding that the LORD is capable of dwelling within the body of an individual person.

 

When scripture says, “the word of the LORD came to Abram” (Gen 15:1), or “the word of the LORD came to Isaiah” (Isa 38:4), the rabbis understood these passages to speak of some physical manifestation of the Creator to the prophet. Maybe the manifestation of the Creator was a “vision” like Peter received while on the roof of Simon’s house (Acts 10) or the manifestation may have been more tangible. When “the LORD appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre” (Gen 18:1), the LORD appeared in human form, which allowed Abraham to wash His feet (Gen 18:4) and set a meal before the LORD. Believers see this manifestation of God in the Hebrew text as the pre-incarnate form of the “the Word” (John 1:1), which we know from the Greek text as Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha-Mashiach).

 

The question naturally follows, how does an all powerful ever present God still walk on the earth and indwell believers? Said another way, how is the infinite capable of dwelling in the finite, while at the same time, continuing to be all-powerful and dwell everywhere? Let us turn to the creation story to begin our search for the answer.

 

BEFORE THE BEGINNING, FORMLESS AND VOID

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” (Gen 1:1-3)

 

Have you ever wondered, if God is all powerful existing in all places at all times, how was there ever a time and place when “the earth was formless and void”? Although the first act of creation appears as “Let there be light”, Torah Club 5 postulates an implied action that occurred before the giving of light. Since the LORD God is infinite and limitless, a place did not exist before the beginning for a finite creation to dwell in the presence of an infinite God.

 

“To make something that isn’t God, God had to create a non-God space. Therefore, the first step of creation required formlessness and void that resulted from the concealment of His presence.”

 

In short, the original “formless and void” was the “non-God space” where the LORD God elected to limit Himself in order to bring the creation into existence. A person might say that the LORD God humbled Himself, limiting the glory of His infinite nature in order to bring creation into existence. Rabbi Yochanon once made a statement appropriate to the creation,

 

“Wherever you find the greatness of the Holy One, blessed be He, you will also find his humility.” (b. Megillah 31a)

LET THERE BE LIGHT

Into this void of creation, the LORD God introduced Himself, “Let there be light.” Since the sun and moon do not exist until the fourth day, the original light is understood as “the presence”, “the knowledge”, and “the glory” of the LORD God, as the apostle Paul expressed in his writing to the Corinthians,

 

“For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ,” (2 Cor 4:6).

 

The original light of the Creator in creation is seen to diminish during the progression of the creation story. By the fourth day, the sun, moon, and stars become the predominant lights. The Hebrew sages saw this sequence and suggested that the light from the Creator diminished by one-seventh for each day of creation. By the time man is created, near the end of day six, the illumination of God in the creation has diminished to one-seventh of the strength at the beginning. This understanding is derived from the words of Isaiah who prophesied of a future time when...

 

“The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the bruise He has inflicted,” (Isa 30:26).

 

Whether the original light from the LORD was diminished down to one-seventh or some other fraction, scripture strongly indicates that the LORD God willingly “veiled” His original presence as the creation progressed. An understanding that the Creator has limited His light, and therefore His presence and revelation within the existing creation, is supported by the expectation of a future greater illumination from the Creator. In the Book of Revelations, John wrote,

 

“The city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,” (Rev 21:22)(Rev 22:4-5)

 

In his vision, John sees a reversal of the original veiling from creation, a coming time of great illumination in the presence of the LORD. Until this future time, the “veiling” of the infinite LORD God is necessary for the Creator to interact within the boundary of a finite creation, as expressed by the authors of Torah Club 5,

 

“The LORD must conceal Himself to some extent in order to have any relationship with mankind and the rest of finite creation…creation can exist and God can interact with creation only because He has deliberately limited Himself through contraction of His infinite being.”

 

(to be continued - Scott)