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The Revelation Of Elohim  

One reason why the apostle Peter wrote his second letter was to refute the heresy taught by the Antinomian Gnostics.  Antinomian means "no law".  The English word "Gnostic" is translated from the Greek word "ginosko", meaning, "knowledge".  Antinomian Gnostics were an elitist group who claimed to receive special knowledge from angels. They believed there were multiple levels of angels separating a holy God from an unholy humanity.  They believed all things spiritual were holy and all things physical were unholy.  They also believed that no law could restrain them from unholy behaviour so they willfully gave into their fallen human nature, indulging in every kind of sexual promiscuity imaginable.  Because they believed all things spiritual were holy and all things physical were unholy, they didn't believe that God could reside in a human body.  Therefore, they denied the Deity of Christ and believed that Jesus was just an angel.   

 

First century Christian leaders fought off attempts to fuse the worship of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with both Greek Gnosticism and a fallen Judaism.  Such attempts at unity were nothing new.  Old Testament Jews mixed worship of Yahweh with worship of Canaanite pagan gods.  In later years Roman Emperor Constantine fused his brand of legalized Christianity with paganism.  Today, some are trying to unite Islam, Aboriginal Creator worship, or new age philosophy, with the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ.   

 

With this confusion in mind, I understand the revelation of God in the Bible to be progressive in nature.  The first revelation of God is seen in Genesis 1:1; "In the beginning was God"; Elohim in Hebrew.  "Elohim", derived from the Hebrew word "El", was a somewhat generic word for God.  As various distortions of Elohim worship emerged over time on earth, the word "Elohim" was incorporated into pagan worship of other so-called gods.  

 

The Bible doesn't leave us with a generic Elohim.  It provides further revelation of who He really is, as seen in the following Hebrew terms.  

Adonai Elohim (the LORD God – Genesis 2:4)

Adonai Avinu (the LORD our Father – Isaiah 64:8)

El Echad (the one God – Malachi 2:10)

El Hanne'eman (the faithful God – Deuteronomy 7:9)

El Emet (the God of Truth – Psalms 31:5)

El Tsaddik (the righteous God – Isaiah 45:21)

El Shaddai (the all sufficient God or breasted one – Genesis 17:1)

El Elyon (the Most High God – Genesis 14:20)

El Olam (the everlasting God – Genesis 21:33)

El Roi (the God who sees me – Genesis 16:13)

El Gibbor (the mighty God – Isaiah 9:6)

El Deot (the God of knowledge – 1 Samuel 2:3)

El Haggadol (the great God – Deuteronomy 10:17)
El Hakkavod  (the God of glory – Psalm 29:3)

El Hakkadosh (the Holy God – Isaiah 5:16)

El Hashymayim (the God of the heavens – Psalm 126:36)

El Chaiyai (the God of my life – Psalm 42:8)

El Channun (the gracious God – Jonah 4:2)

El Yisrael (the God of Israel – Psalm 68:36)

El Sali (the God of my strength – Psalm 42:9)

El Erekh Apayim avi ha-tanchumim (the God of patience and consolation – Isaiah 57:18)

El Rachum (the God of compassion – Deuteronomy 4:31)

El Yeshuati (the God of my salvation – Isaiah 12:2)

El Yeshuatenu (the God of our salvation – Psalm 68:19) El-Kenno (the jealous God – Exodus 20:5)

El Hannora (the awesome God – Nehemiah 9:32) Immanuel (God is with us – Isaiah 7:14)

Elohei (God who is near – Jeremiah 23:23)

Elohei Marom (God of heights – Micah 6:6)

Elohei Mispat (God who is just – Isaiah 30:18)

I could add more, but I think you get my point.  The revelation of Elohim progresses far beyond Genesis 1:1.

 

The Hebrew word Adonai is one of the most used words associated with Elohim in the Old Testament.  "Adonai" means "lord, master, or owner".  That's why "Adonai" is translated as "LORD", (all capital letters) in our English Bibles and is seen as "the LORD over all lords".  Here are some Hebrew terms associated with "Adonai".  

Adonai Yireh (the LORD who sees – Genesis 22:14)

Adonai Nissi (the LORD my miracle – Exodus 17:15) Adonai Osenu (the LORD our Maker – Psalm 95:5) Adonai Tseva'ot (the LORD of armies – 1 Samuel 1:11) Adonai Eloheikhem (the LORD God - Leviticus 19:3)  Adonai Sal'i (the LORD my rock – Psalm 18:2)

 

A significant event took place in human history when Moses enquired of Elohim His name. (Exodus 3:14)  Elohim answered by saying, "I AM who I AM".  (ehyeh-asher-ehyeh" – in Hebrew – from "hayah hayah" meaning, "to be or will be")  "I AM" tells us that Elohim lives in the eternal present, outside of what we know as time.  He exists in the past, present, and future, all at once.  All things that are or ever will be exist because "Yahweh is".  Moses now had a personal name to the face of Elohim.  He understood Yahweh to be "Hashem", Hebrew for the sacred name – Leviticus 24:11.  

 

It should be obvious.  Elohim has left us with a very clear Biblical picture of who He is.  There shouldn't be any confusion, but there is to the Biblically illiterate.   

 

The most important revelation of God took place when on the behalf of Yahweh, an angel told a young lady that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her, causing her to conceive and give birth to a son.  Back then fathers named their children, so the angel told Mary that Yahweh wanted her to name His Son "Jesus" since He'd be called the "Son of the Most High". (Luke 1:31 - 34)  Whether you call Him Jesus in English, Iesous in Greek, or Yehowshuwa in Hebrew, His name means "Yahweh is salvation" who would be embodied in a human being from the womb of Mary.

 

Besides Jesus being Yahweh in human form, He was given two titles.  As Lord, He is supreme over all things spiritual, physical, or any other realm that may exist.  He has no rivals or competition, and has the last word in all things.  As Christ, He alone provides us with all aspects of salvation, including reconciliation to Yahweh.

 

Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus "is the exact representation of His (Yahweh's) being".  Revelation 1:8 quotes Jesus to say; "I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come. The Almighty".  Jesus is "the exact representation of Yahweh".  The words "who is, who was, and who is to come, is what the name "Yahweh" means.  Jesus is "the Lord God Almighty", words only attributed to God (El Gibbor - the Mighty God and El Elyon - the Most High) in the Hebrew Bible.  There's no doubt, Jesus is the Elohim of Genesis 1:1.  No other revelation of Elohim is needed beyond the revelation seen in the Lord Jesus Christ.  No one could possibly trump this revelation; certainly not Mohammed, Joseph Smith, or anyone else.       

 

No other religion or philosophy views Jesus as Elohim in human flesh.  No other religion or philosophy views Elohim as Jesus.  There's no logic in fusing Allah of the Koran with Yahweh of the Bible.  Yahweh isn't Allah, and Allah isn't Yahweh.  It makes no Biblical sense for a North American Christian Native to revert back to the original revelation of Elohim being Creator unless there is a clearly stated acknowledgement that the Creator is in fact the Lord Jesus Christ.  To incorporate new age philosophy into Christian theology distorts the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We need to take the Biblical record seriously and obey the command.  "I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God (Elohim) … you shall have no other gods besides me". (Exodus 20:1- 2)  Our present day attempts to add, subtract, or change, the Biblical revelation of Elohim is no different than the attempts by the Antinomian Gnostics in Peter's day to make Jesus into an angel.  We should vigorously refute these heretical attempts as we stand firm on the Biblical revelation of who Elohim really is. 

 

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