The Spiritual Realm - Part 5
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Yahweh, our God, is one God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created all things, is over all things, is separate from all things, and has chosen to redeem all things - the spiritual and the natural. This includes you and me. Will you trust him in this process of redemption in your life? Knowing and believing in his status will help us trust Him. Let us explore it further.
In review, the current realms are the third heaven, the earth, Sheol, Tartarus, and Hell.
The five terms of nature are: spirit (ruah) (pneuma), god, gods (el) (elohim) (theos) (theoi), heavenly ones (samayim), stars (kokab) (aster), holy ones (qedosim) (hagios).
I originally planned to cover 22 terms of Yahweh’s status. In the process of researching those, I found 26 terms of status for Yahweh. You can see the notes for the entire list.
They are:
LORD God (Yahweh Elohim) Genesis 2:4; Luke 1:32
LORD (Yahweh) Genesis 4:1
Lord GOD (Adonai Yahweh) Genesis 15:2
Spirit of the LORD (Ruah Yahweh) Judges 3:10
I AM (Hayah) (Ego Eimi) Exodus 3:14; John 8:58
Father (Abi) (Patera) Isaiah 63:16; John 14:6-9
Ancient of Days (Attiq Yomin) Daniel 7:9
Everlasting God (Olam Elohim) Isaiah 40:28
Creator (Bore) (Ktisantga) Isaiah 40:28; Romans 1:25
Most High (Elyon) Psalm 91:1; Luke 1:35
Almighty (Shaddai) (Pantokrator) Genesis 17:1; Job 13:3; Revelation 1:8
Lord of lords (Adonai adonai) Deuteronomy 10:17; Revelation 19:16
God of gods (Elohim elohim) Deuteronomy 10:17; Revelation 19:16
Holy (Qados) Isaiah 57:15
God, the God of Israel (El-Elohe-Israel) Genesis 33:19-20
Holy Spirit (Qados Ruah) Isaiah 63:7-14; Ephesians 4:30
Spirit of God (Ruah Elohim) (Pneuma Theos), Spirit of Christ (Pneuma Christos) Genesis 1:2; Romans 8:9
I am the First and the Last (Ani Rison Ani Aharon) (Ego ho Protos kai ho Eschatos) Isaiah 44:6; Revelation 1:8; 22:13
Cloud Rider (Hamehallek Abim) Psalm 104:1-3; Daniel 7:13; Revelation 1:7
Word of the LORD (Debar Yahweh) Genesis 15:1; Jeremiah 1:4-10; John 1:1-3, 14
Angel of the LORD (Malak Yahweh) Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:19-23; Psalm 34:7; 2 Kings 19:35; John 12:49-50
The Name (Hasem) Exodus 23:20-22; Leviticus 24:10-16; Isaiah 30:27–28; John 17:5-6
King of Glory (Melek Kabod) Psalm 24:8-10; Joshua 5:13-15; Revelation 19:11-16
LORD of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot) Psalm 24:8-10; Joshua 5:13-15; Revelation 19:11-16
Commander of Yahweh's Army (Sar Sebaot Yahweh). Psalm 24:8-10; Joshua 5:13-15; Revelation 19:11-16
This week, we will continue to cover the terms that describe the status of Yahweh, building our trust in him.
The five that we will cover today are: Angel of the LORD (Malak Yahweh), The Name (Hasem), King of Glory (Melek Kabod), LORD of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), and Commander of Yahweh's Army (Sar Sebaot Yahweh).
Angel of Yahweh (Malak Yahweh) is used 132 times; only twice does it refer to a human messenger. In the majority of the 130 occurrences, there is ambivalence between the Identity of the Angel of Yahweh and Yahweh, Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:19-23; Psalm 34:7; 2 Kings 19:35; John 12:49-50.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
And Manoah took the young goat and the grain offering, and he offered it to Yahweh on the rock, to the one who performs miracles. And Manoah and his wife were watching. And when the flame went up toward the heaven from the altar, the angel of Yahweh went up in the flame of the altar to heaven while Manoah and his wife were watching. And they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of Yahweh did not appear again to Manoah and his wife, and then Manoah knew that he was a messenger of Yahweh. And Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die because we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh wanted to kill us he would not have taken from our hand the burnt offering and the grain offering, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us things such as these.”
The angel of Yahweh encamps
around those who fear him,
and he rescues them.
It happened in that night that an angel of Yahweh went out, and he struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of Assyria. When they got up early in the morning, look! All of them were dead corpses.
For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.”
In these passages, we see the distinction and the blending of the Angel of Yahweh and Yahweh. Exodus 3:2-6; Judges 13:19-23.
We see that the Angel of Yahweh is a delivering warrior, Psalm 34:7; 2 Kings 19:35.
We also see the Angel of Yahweh as Yahweh’s messenger, since that is what the text literally means, but it is clear from the passages that he is no ordinary messenger. Jesus also makes it clear that he is Yahweh’s messenger (John 12:49-50).
Will we hear and trust the Messenger of Yahweh? For he is the second person of the Trinity.
The Name(Hasem) - Jews use this even today to show respect and in fear of misusing Yahweh. The OT authors did not fear using the name of Yahweh, for it was used over 6,000 times. They used “The Name” as another way to refer to Yahweh. For example, let's look at Exodus 23:20-22; Leviticus 24:10-16; Isaiah 30:27–28; John 17:5-6
Look! The name of Yahweh comes from afar,
burning with his anger and heaviness of cloud.
His lips are full of indignation,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire.
And his breath is like an overflowing river;
it reaches up to the neck
to shake the nations with the sieve of worthlessness;
and a bridle that leads astray is on the jawbones of the peoples.
“ ‘Look, I am about to send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.
8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
For most of my life, I understood “the Name” as an abstract way to refer to Yahweh, but about eight years ago, I looked at its usages and learned that the OT authors do not always use it that way.
The OT authors frame “the Name” as an embodied person, separate from the angel of Yahweh and separate from Yahweh, and yet he is Yahweh. Jews saw this and tried to navigate it with the “two powers in heaven” doctrine. This doctrine was made heretical by the Jews in the second century because Jesus and Christians used it to prove Jesus as Yahweh (Isaiah 30:27-28).
Jesus is alluding to the Jewish usage of “The Name” in John 17:6, saying that “I have manifested your name.” He is not saying that he taught them a name they did not know or an abstract way of referring to Yahweh. What he is saying is that he is the embodiment of “the Name” - the embodiment of Yahweh, Emanuel - God with us.
The terms King of Glory (Melek Kabod), Lord of Hosts (Yahweh Sebaot), andCommander of Yahweh’s Army (Sar Sebaot Yahweh) are grouped together because of how they relate to each other. Turn to Psalm 24:7-10; Joshua 5:13-15; Revelation 19:11-16
Lift up your heads, O gates,
and rise up, O ancient doorways,
that the king of glory may enter.
Who is the king of glory?
Yahweh, strong and mighty;
Yahweh, mighty in war!
Lift up your heads, O gates,
and lift up, O ancient doorways,
that the king of glory may enter.
Who is the king of glory?
Yahweh of hosts,
He is the king of glory! Selah
And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and he saw a man standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, “Are you with us, or with our adversaries?” And he said, “Neither. I have come now as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and he bowed down and said to him, “What is my lord commanding his servant?” The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Psalm 24:7-10 presents Yahweh as a warrior king returning from battle in glory. He is the King of Glory returning in triumph.
The doors and gates are to be lifted up so the king of glory may come in. The doors and gates represent the people in Jerusalem receiving Jesus at his second coming. They also represent us receiving Jesus now. May we lift up our heads and let the King of Glory in.
May we continue to be lifted up, looking for the return of Jesus, the King of kings, the King of glory.
Who is the King of glory? The Yaweh of hosts. Yahweh of hosts continues the theme of the warrior king, for hosts (sebaot) can be translated as armies. Given the context of the Psalm, Yahweh of armies would be more accurate.
With that in mind, consider the Commander of Yahweh's Army in Joshua 5:13-15, who makes the ground holy and receives worship.
John takes all three of these and packages them into Jesus’ second coming in Revelation 19:11-16.
He is the King of Glory, for he is the King of kings.
He is Yaweh of Armies, for he leads the armies of heaven.
He is the Commander of Yahweh’s armies because he leads them, and with his word, he strikes down the nations. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
Yahweh, our God, is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He created all things, is over all things, is separate from all things, and has chosen to redeem all things - the spiritual and the natural. This includes you and me. Will you trust him in this process of redemption in your life? This is the challenge for us: choosing to trust and living in that trust when life does not meet our expectations. Jesus, please come and make all things right.
