Micah5:1 JPS"But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, Which art little to be among the thousands of Judah,
Out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose goings forth(mozaah) are from of old, from ancient days.(Olam)"
Strong's:Feminine of mowtsa'; a family descent; also a sewer (marg.; compare tsow'ah) -- draught house; going forth.
Common theme going forth from the belly.
Compare:
Hebrews ch.1:10-12NIV"He also says,
"In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12You will roll them up like a robe;
lie a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”
Here our brother Paul quotes psalms102:25,26 and applies them to Jesus ,earlier on at verse 2 he had made the point that the Son was the one through whom JEHOVAH made the ages. Thus both JEHOVAH and his agent could be credited with the production of the physical world. Also both JEHOVAH and his subordinate would need to proceed physical world to logically be made responsible for its existence
Hebrews ch.1:2NIV"but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. "
Thus the verse could apply to both the ultimate source of the power and wisdom manifest in the creation and the primary instrument of that source.
Note please that the creation in question is perishable ,thus we are not discussing anything spiritual, likely the ages in question refer to humanity or human civilization,
Compare:
Genesis ch.1:26JPS"And God said: ‘Let US make(Hebrew asah) man in OUR image, after OUR likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.’"
Thus here is the living intelligent instrument through which JEHOVAH accomplished his work that is the only way this instrument could be said to bear God's image an expression that must always pertain to either a human or superhuman Son of God.
Compare:
Hebrews ch.1:3"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. "
Compare:
Proverbs ch.8:30JB" I was by his side, a master craftsman, delighting him day after day, ever at play in his presence,"
Compare:
Colossians ch.1:15-17"The Son is the IMAGE of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. "
John tried to tell Israel the true origins of the one walking among them
John ch.1:30NIV"This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ "
Of course from an earthly standpoint Jesus does not precede John in any sense.And it does no good to make this preceding abstract because John would also have existed abstractly in JEHOVAH'S mind prior to his birth,and is also the product of a divine miracle. John's ministry also precedes Jesus'
John continues:
John ch.1:31NIV"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all."
Thus John showed why Jesus is greater than himself.
Jesus tried to tell Israel his true origin
John ch.6:62NIV"Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit e and life."
If heaven refers to his being born again why would he need to return there ,heaven of course refers to no particular vector but the superhuman state he surrendered in order to become a sacrifice for our sins
Hebrews ch.2:9NIV"But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."
One cannot return to where one has never been and one need not return to where one has never left ,the glory and honor then is a restoration of a previous superhuman glory.
John ch.17:5"And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I HAD with you before the world began."
Here our Lord prays for the restoration of his forfeited superhuman glory which forfeiture was necessary to meet the legal requirements of the atonement.
Hebrews ch 2:14NIV"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil"
Hebrews ch.2:16NIV"For surely it is not angels (spirit beings)he helps, but Abraham’s descendants."
This cannot refer to the new creation because he never forfeited his place in the new creation thus there would be no need to plea for any such restoration.
John ch.3:13NIV"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. "
Jesus is saying that he is unique among all men who ever lived for this reason , obviously Jesus never ceased being part of the new creation,thus this is a strike against the idea that"heaven" pertains to the new creation in this verse , once Jesus became part of JEHOVAH'S new creation he could not exit same without disqualifying himself as Savior.
As stated before heaven refers to his previous superhuman glory. He laid it aside to legally qualify as Savior and upon being born again he reclaimed it hence his prayer at John ch.17:5
John ch.8:23NIV"But he continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.”"
Sin began in heaven, so the pall that was cast over JEHOVAH'S workmanship would extend into heaven ,thus it is fitting that the one that JEHOVAH would rate his first and foremost work in heaven and earth be tested so as to vindicate JEHOVAH'S Workmanship this vindication of JEHOVAH'S Godhood is the primary issue that must be settled.
No comments:
Post a Comment