http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cjXj6TMOAMGood study tools
Default KJV with links to individual verses
http://www.blueletterbible.org/index.cfmFor Strong's and Greek/English interlinear
http://www.olivetree.com/cgi-bin/EnglishBible.htmYHWH MANIFESTMohammed's followers sometimes claim to adhere to a "faith of Abraham" as if Abraham founded a "religion". Yet most haven't bothered to learn about Abraham other than through Islamic "tradition", that was all created and put to the pen in the 7th-10th centuries AD, that poses as thousands of years of prior historical record.
If Muslims would simply read about Abraham as detailed in the actual historical record it might clear up one of their most difficult misconceptions regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Specifically their inability to understand that God "manifest", or revealed Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ.
Mohammed's followers deny this even though they believe that Mary conceived Jesus solely by the direct will of God. Muslims would also claim that all God would have to do is say "be" and He could reveal Himself in any manner that He so chose. But I'm sure we would all agree that it's absurd to suggest, that God would even need to say "be", even if He chose to reveal himself as ten different men at the same time.
So let's look at the first time that Yahweh revealed Himself, in the flesh of a man, to Abraham in Genesis chapter 18.
Genesis 18:1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;Checking Strong's definitions
And the
LORDOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
03068
Y@hovah {yeh-ho-vaw'}
from 01961; TWOT - 484a; n pr dei
AV -
LORD 6510, GOD 4, JEHOVAH 4, variant 1; 6519
Jehovah = "the existing One"
1)
the proper name of the one true God1a) unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136
"LORD" translated from the Hebrew, "Jehovah" the "existing One", that is, God Himself "appeared" to Abraham.
Before the Jews surrendered to a
much later doctrine in which men declared that the name Yahweh was too sacred to say or write, the tetragrammaton YHWH occurred in this spot, and in
6,827 other places in Hebrew scripture. "YHWH" is the name of God.
2
And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,Three "men" stood by him.
menOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
0582
'enowsh {en-oshe'}
from 0605; TWOT - 136a; n m
AV -
man 520, certain 10, husbands 3, some 3, merchantmen 2,
persons 2, misc 24; 564
1)
man, mortal man, person, mankind
1a) of an individual
1b) men (collective)
1c) man, mankind
So Abraham "bowed himself toward the ground,"
3
And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:My
LordOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
0136
'Adonay {ad-o-noy'}
am emphatic form of 0113; TWOT - 27b; n m
AV -
Lord 431, lord 2, God 1; 434
1) my lord, lord
1a) of men
1b) of God
2)
Lord - title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverenceAs in the prior case with the name Jehovah substituting for Yahweh, the substitute title "Adonay" is used in this spot. It can mean Lord or lower case lord as in master. Whether Yahweh or Adonay occurred in the original Hebrew is obviously a moot point considering the context.
3
And said, My Lord, {Adonay}
if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:Some suggest that the "man" in our passage was an angel but are we to believe that Abraham thought himself a "servant" of an angel, rather than Yahweh, particularly considering all the direct contact Abraham had with Yahweh?
Abraham continues....
4
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.Water is not only fetched so these men can wash their feet, but Abraham offers the men food, and they accept.
8
And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set [it] before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.And so these men - one unquestionably being Yahweh Himself - did eat. Later in the passage we read...
22
And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. {Jehovah (Yaweh)} 23
And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?So who has the power to destroy a city of men?
24
Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that [are] therein? 25
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?Who was the "man", that Abraham recognized as God, that is "the Judge of all the earth"? The same one that dined.
26
And the LORD {Jehovah (Yaweh)}
said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.Who had the power and authority to spare Sodom? The answer is again obvious. Abraham did not see God, but Abraham did have a face to face meeting with Yahewh as He manifest, or revealed Himself, in the flesh of a man.
Christians that recognize the co-existence of Yahweh and His Messiah Yahshua, as further confirmed through these "Christophanies" or appearances of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, understand that this "man" that Abraham met, that had the power to destroy Sodom, was Yahshua - the Messiah - Jesus Christ.
1Timothy 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;Mankind's one mediator and advocate from the foundation of the world
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.That sacrifice just as prophesied in the Old Testament, so many hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented.
Psalms 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17
I may tell all my bones: they look [and] stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.Detailed just as it was fulfilled.
Next let's consider the Hebrew term translated as "angel" as used four chapters later.
Genesis 22:11 And the angel of the LORD {Jehovah (Yaweh)} called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.Whether in the Old Testament or New, angels are messengers. Most are from the Lord, but Satan himself can appear as an angel of light.
And the
angelOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
04397
mal'ak {mal-awk'}
from an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy; TWOT - 1068a; n m
AV -
angel 111,
messenger 98, ambassadors 4, variant 1; 214
1) messenger, representative
1a) messenger
1b) angel
1c) the theophanic angel
Genesis 22:11
And the angel of the LORD {Jehovah (Yaweh)}....
Now look at the verse again and notice the article "the" before angel indicating a very unique and specific "messenger". Checking the Strong's definition again, we find "the theophanic angel".
When the term "the angel of the Lord" is used in the Old Testament it is generally understood by Christians to be a Christophany or appearance of Yeshua/Jesus Christ. Though not the only indicator of a Christophany this phrase
occurs 58 times in the KJV. You can Google the term
"Christophany" or the phrase
"the angel of the Lord" or
"the theophanic angel" to learn more. If you click on one of the first two links below this video the text versions contain convenient links to searches as well as to all these verses in context.
Let's look at yet another spot, when Yahweh/Yeshua revealed Himself, this time to Moses.
Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the LORD {Jehovah (Yaweh)}
appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed. 3
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here [am] I.The "angel of the LORD" and "God" are described as being in the midst of the bush.
GodOld Testament Hebrew Definition:
0430
'elohiym {el-o-heem'}
plural of 0433; TWOT - 93c; n m p
AV -
God 2346, god 244, judge 5, GOD 1, goddess 2, great 2, mighty 2,
angels 1, exceeding 1, God-ward + 04136 1, godly 1; 2606
1) (plural)
1a) rulers, judges
1b) divine ones
1c) angels
1d) gods
2) (plural intensive - singular meaning)
2a) god, goddess
2b) godlike one
2c) works or special possessions of God
2d)
the (true) God2e) God
Used 2346 times, Elohiym is a Hebrew term used as a replacement substitute for the name of God - Yahweh - that springs from that same error of latter doctrine. Elohiym can mean the God and also a god as in a pagan god or goddess, or even a judge, depending on context. We certainly don't have to wonder which, in the context of this passage.
5
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I [am] the God of thy 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 upon God.All references translated as "God" in these two verses, also use the substitute title Elohiym, in the Hebrew.
The angel and Yahweh, both appearing in the midst of that bush, are one, just as Jesus declared in the Gospel.
John 10:30 I and [my] Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.The Jews wanted to stone Jesus for the blasphemy of declaring He and God are one and the same. That "one" in the Koine Greek is in the neuter gender indicating they are of one essence. Thus the Messiah - Yahshua - Jesus Christ - is God. God is the Messiah. The theophanic angel is "of" the Lord, just as the Spirit of God, is "of" the Lord. ALL GOD
1John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.1Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.Regarding "the Judge of all the earth", mentioned in Genesis 18, Jesus Christ declared....
John 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:The Messiah is the way God chose to lead His people to Him during this new covenant era that the Messiah ushered in.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.Old covenant or new, the mediator of mankind, from the foundation of the world.
The Hebrew name of the Messiah "Yahshua" means "Yahweh saves" or "delivers" or "rescues". What does mankind need rescue from, before a just God, more than our own sin? Under the old covenant it was the blood of temple sacrifice of animals that provided atonement for sin. Under the new covenant it is the blood of the Messiah, the Lamb of God, the one sacrifice for all, that saves us from sin. The temple is no more. Nor will it be.
Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.After the Messiah - Yahshua - Jesus Christ was crucified, died and resurrected, He appeared before hundreds of witnesses in His glorified body, and just before His ascension into heaven....
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.Deny this at your own peril.
19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:The Spirit of God the Father and His Son the Messiah our Savior.
To our Muslim friends are you ready to stand before Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, in judgment? The very Son you reject?
1 John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father:The "born again" body of Christ is not an exclusive club. All are welcome.
2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.A far cry from Mohammed's alter-ego "Allah" that predestines people - before they are even conceived - for his personal torturing pleasure that he called "entertainment", in the hell of Mohammed's imagination.
Sahih Muslim, Book 33, Number 6436:
Narrated Aisha: 'A'isha, the mother of the believers, said that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) was called to lead the funeral prayer of a child of the Ansar. I said: Allah's Messenger, there is happiness for this child who is a bird from the birds of paradise for it committed no sin nor has he reached the age when one can commit sin. He said: 'A'isha, per adventure, it may be otherwise, because God created for paradise those who are fit for it while they were yet in their father's loins and created for Hell those who are to go to Hell. He created them for Hell while they were yet in their father's loins.What kind of evil god predestines people from before conception for his personal torture and torment? A counterfeit god.
To our Muslim friends, will you continue to reject the new covenant salvation offered to you by the Messiah Jesus Christ, to instead follow in the 7th and 8th century created historical fiction, of Mohammed and his followers? Will you continue to prostrate yourself toward the pagan Quraish's Kaaba and their black stone idol in Mecca - that wasn't even established until the 5th century AD 1200 kilometers away from - the Holy Land of the prophets and patriarchs?
Will you continue to reject the sinless Lamb of God - the Prince of Peace - to follow a single 7th century individual who Islam's own books reveal as a murdering, prisoner abusing, thief?
The hour is late.
You could die this very day.
Why not seek out the love of the one true God, by inviting Jesus Christ to come into your heart, as so many of your former Muslim brothers and sisters have. Find the joy that comes from a new heart and a new spirit, just as the Old Testament saints prophesied of the new covenant, so many hundreds of years in advance.
Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:Jesus has been waiting for you. All you have to do is humble yourself and ask, with a contrite spirit.
Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
