The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 2

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

In Part 1 of " The Christian Vision of the New Creation, we ended with:

 

(P.79} " On other occasions 'El' is given a particular name, 'El Roi', the God

who sees (Genesis 16:13), or 'El Olam', the everlasting God (Genesis 21:33).

Perhaps the most significant of all is the name 'El Elyon', the " most-high God "

(Genesis 14:18-19), which may be an indication that a 'supreme El' was

recognised at this stage, which has its counterpart among the Phoenicians and

other neighbouring nations. In later times the name 'El Shaddai', which is

usually translated 'God Almighty', but may mean 'God of the Mountain', was

considered the proper name of God at this period, (cf. Exodus 6:3) which again

may indicate that a supreme form of God was emerging at this time. (P.80} But

the decisive moment came with Moses when the name 'Yahweh' was revealed as the

proper name of the God of Israel (Exodus 3:15) and the unity of the divine being

was clearly established. [break Quote]

 

[iMPORTANT NOTE]:

 

Folks, apparently when in the Bible it says " LORD " all in CAPS, it refers to

'Yahweh':

 

" The name of our heavenly father was confirmed to Moses in Exodus 3:15. Moses

recorded it in Hebrew and it has been kept for centuries by the scribes in the

numerous scrolls that they made. Most English Bibles have replaced that name

with " the LORD " (all upper case), which is not a name, but a title. This results

in the true name being removed from the scriptures in almost 7000 places. "

 

http://www.users.qwest.net/~zadok1/father.htm

 

[EN]

 

[Resume Quote]:

 

(cont. P.80} From this time 'Elohim' came to be used as a singular, identified

with the one supreme god of Israel. It seems clear, though, that Yahweh was

originally a thunder god. This is indicated by the way he is associated with

thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai. In any case, Yahweh at an early stage was

clearly a tribal God, who was called the Lord of the armies of Israel, driving

out their enemies before them. Later the same name, Lord of armies or " hosts " ,

was given to Yahweh as Lord of the " hosts of heaven " , so that from being a local

tribal god, he came to be recognised as a Cosmic Lord.

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith)

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

Pgs. 79-80

 

Here now is Part 2.

 

Enjoy,

 

violet

 

 

The Christian Vision of the New Creation - Part 2

 

(P. 80} In the great prophetic movement of the eighth century Yahweh finally

passes from being the mythical god of thunder and the tribe to the status of the

one transcendent God of all creation. At first Yahweh was conceived as above the

other gods but still one among many; only later was he recognised as the one God

compared with whom the other gods were nothing, and eventually these gods came

to be regarded as " demons " , that is, as powers opposed to the one God like the

'asuras' in Hindu tradition. Perhaps the greatest significance is to be found in

the interpretation of the name of Yahweh as " I am " . [break Quote]

 

[important Note]:

 

Folks, in the Bible in Exodus 3:14-15 it says:

 

" And God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM " ; and He said, " Thus you shall say to the

sons of Israel, " I AM has sent me to you. " (Exodus 3:14)

 

And God, furthermore, said to Moses, " Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel,

'The LORD [**'LORD' is but a title, referring to the " real name " which is

" Yahweh " ], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and

the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.' This [ " Yahweh " ] is My name forever, and

this is My memorial-name to all generations. " (Exodus 3:15)

 

** (From the Hebrew)

 

" And said also the Mighty Ones to Moses, 'say to the children of Israel, Yahweh,

Mighty One of your fathers, Mighty One of Abraham, Mighty One of Isaac, and

Mighty One of Jacob has sent me to you; this is my name FOREVER, the name by

which I am to be remembered from generation to generation. "

 

http://www.users.qwest.net/~zadok1/exodus3.htm

 

" The name of our heavenly father was confirmed to Moses in Exodus 3:15. Moses

recorded it in Hebrew and it has been kept for centuries by the scribes in the

numerous scrolls that they made. Most English Bibles have replaced that name

with " the LORD " (all upper case), which is not a name, but a title. This results

in the true name being removed from the scriptures in almost 7000 places. "

 

http://www.users.qwest.net/~zadok1/father.htm [End Note]

 

[Resume Quote]

 

This was the profound insight that the supreme Person is essentially supreme

Being. It may be that the name was first of all taken to mean " I will be " ,

signifying the relationship of the God of Israel to his chosen people, but the

deeper insight that God is absolute Being must have been reached in time. This

is the same insight which is found in the Katha Upanishad, where it said: " How

shall we speak of him except by saying, 'He is' (asti)? " (Katha Upanishad 6:12)

Thus one can trace the slow stages by which the idea of God evolved in Israel as

in the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. (P.81} Each appears as a

unique revelation by which the true nature of absolute Truth and Reality came to

be known.

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith)

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0

Pgs. 80-81