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)
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