Tag: God

Part 1: The Finger of God: The Writing in the Sand and the Writing on the Wall

I was doing a bible study on parables today and the story about the woman caught in adultery was called to mind, where Jesus wrote something mysterious in the sand. And He famously said, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone”. Ahh, so classic. As the instructor was mentioning it briefly, God flashed to me the illustration of the hand writing on the wall in the king’s palace in the book of Daniel. The similarity of this parable and the story in Daniel of the writing on the wall are so obvious once you think about it! Upon further deduction, I do think Jesus was writing the same Aramaic phrase in the earth that the hand was writing on the wall:

Mene Mene Tekel Pharsin

This phrase means God has numbered you and you are finished (Mene). You have been weighed in the balances and found lacking (Tekel). Your people are divided and will be conquered (Pharsin). This phrase would definitely have rung true also in Jesus’ time since the Jewish nation was oppressed by the Romans, and there was constant threat of persecution and crucifixion. Death was pervasive. The Sanhedrin were always afraid of upsetting the Roman apple cart and being unable to practice their religion in Israel.

If this was what Jesus inscribed in the dirt, what would have affected the scribes and pharisees more was Jesus’ reference to the book of Daniel where this phrase made its debut. Jesus was schooling them as the voice of God. I suggest that they were so shocked by Him and His use of these words that they slowly, one by one, were convicted and dumbstruck, and walked away silently. It was noted elsewhere in the New Testament writings that Jesus drew on Old Testament prophets and writings to show his divinity and purpose. The Pharisees and Sadducees were always becoming stymied and speechless by Him. So it makes total sense that he was doing the same thing in this depiction.

Jesus said to the woman, “I don’t judge you. Go and sin no more”. The irony is that in true Jesus fashion, He took the judgment the men intended for the woman and turned it back on the men! They received judgment while she was forgiven and renewed.

There are some striking similarities between the two stories about mysterious writing that make me convinced this was the import of Jesus’ writing.

The Writing on the Wall

Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar, was king of Babylon and decided to have a party for a thousand of his nobles. They brought out the golden vessels taken from the house of the Lord in Israel and used them to toast to many gods. At that moment finger of a man’s hand came out and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace across from the lampstand. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s color was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that he was trembling mightily and sent to find someone who could read this writing and reveal its meaning. The one who could tell the king its meaning would be clothed in purple, given a chain of gold around his neck, and shall rule 3rd in the kingdom. That night King Belshazzar was killed. ~Daniel 5:1-7

The Parable of the Woman Caught in Adultery

As Jesus was teaching in the temple at dawn, the scribes and pharisees brought to Him a woman having been taken in adultery. They said, Teacher, in the Law Moses commanded that such should be stoned. You, then, what do you say? They said this to tempt Him in order to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote with the finger in the earth, not appearing to hear. He then stood up and said, “The one among you without sin, let him cast the first stone at her.” And bending down again, He wrote in the earth. But hearing, and being convicted by the conscience, they went out one by one, beginning from the older ones, until the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing there. And Jesus stood back up, and observing no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did not one give judgment against you?” And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I give judgment. Go, and sin no more.” ~John 8:1-11

Similarities

  • Finger There are really no other stories I can think of in the bible where fingers of a hand write something that strikes fear into men. I think it’s too coincidental that Jesus wrote with a finger in the earth of the temple yard, and that fingers of a man’s hand wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace.

The Hebrew word “etsba” primarily refers to a “finger.” It is used in the Bible to denote the physical finger of a person or, metaphorically, to describe the work or action of God. The term can also imply precision, skill, or the act of pointing. Cultural and Historical Background: In ancient Hebrew culture, the finger was often symbolic of power and action. The use of fingers in gestures, such as pointing or writing, was significant in communication and expression. The finger of God, as mentioned in the Bible, signifies divine intervention or the execution of God’s will with precision and authority.

  • Mysterious The writing on the wall was written in a language unknown by King Belshazzar, but known to the Hebrew people, and Daniel. The writing in the earth is a mystery to everyone but the Jews who were present. I doubt even the woman knew what was written since women were mostly illiterate in those times.
  • Judgment Both writings proclaimed some judgment upon man. In Daniel, it was because of the sin of idolatry; and in John, it was because of the hypocritical mindset of the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus was showing that the law is something that is written in our hearts versus something to be used to hurt people.
  • 3rd Highest The other compelling symbolism I found tying these two narratives together is that the person who revealed the writing’s meaning in Daniel would receive a purple robe, golden necklace, and rule third in the kingdom. This all implies kingship and authority. Jesus knew this when he wrote MENE MENE TEKEL PHARSIN in the sand. We know his meaning was understood when the Jewish leaders quietly walked away. I am sure few understand the full import of His meaning, that He understood His place as the 3rd in the Holy Trinity: Father, Holy Spirit, and Son.
  • Holy Bread The most exciting discovery for me to glean from these two texts is that hidden meaning you have to dig to find. It is in the comment regarding the location of the writing in the palace: “on the wall across from the lampstand”. In the tabernacle and later in the temple, there were explicit locations for the items that were used by the priests outside the Holy of Holies (where the ark of the covenant and the 10 Commandments were kept). Some of these pieces of furniture were the alter, the table of incense, and the lampstand. But across from the lampstand was located the table of shewbread. Jesus is symbolic of the showbread! The showbread was a constant reminder of God’s covenant with his people and his provision for the 12 tribes of Israel, represented by the 12 loaves. Jesus is the true Bread of Life, giving unfailing sustenance to all who partake of Him. Light from the golden lampstand illuminated the table of showbread causing it to sparkle with a dazzling beauty as the small ornately tooled table stood stately on the right side of the holy place.

I am the living bread which came down from heaven: If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. ~John 6:51

Jesus is always teaching us that He is the completion of the law; He is the New Covenant. In this story He is the writing on the wall, He is the bread of life, and He is the one who has been given the authority to judge men.

The Bitter Woman at the Well

That Jesus not only spoke to women but entered into discussion with them, ate with them, lived among them, and loved them is a profound, often overlooked aspect of His life and ministry. In those days women were tolerated in the male-dominated world…to serve men. They were treated as lesser-than men in society as reflected in the law at the time. They had meaning only insomuch as they served men in the domicile, and in society. They were generally not sought after for their thoughts, insights, or leadership.

If you read the account of the woman at the well and really pay attention to it so that you live it out in your mind, you can see that she was actually being quite flippant with Jesus, and dare I say, downright defiant? She spoke as a woman embittered by life, as so many women in that day were, I am sure. Here was this strange man who demanded something from her while she was carrying out yet another mundane daily chore. He was probably the spark that ignited her seething fuse and she ‘went off on him’ once he spoke to her.

We can understand that she was undoubtedly living under a chronic degree of anger about her subservient role of ‘woman’, and not just any Hebrew woman, but as a lowly Samaritan woman who was not of the ‘chosen’ clan of the Jews. She was a serial divorcee and wife (of 5 previous husbands), and also knew the reality of living in sexual immorality since the current man she lived with was not her husband. She undoubtedly had children of various fathers. Men in those times could divorce a woman for any reason, and one gathers that her biting tongue might have been some of the reason for this lady’s difficulties. We can imagine this as a vicious cycle of being redeemed by a man only to be discarded by him (partially of her own doing) and feeling like a victim in this. This anger leaked out upon Jesus who happened to be resting at the ancient well of Jacob, thirsty and tired from his journey.

The Story

A tired and weary Jesus sat down beside the well in the city of Sychar and asked for a drink from the first woman who came to the well. And she said, “Since you are a Jew, how can you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” [interpretation: Ha! Not on your life, Mister!] not giving Him a drink

And He essentially replied, “If you had asked me, I would have given you living water to drink (eternal life). But she said to Him, “Sir, you don’t have a pail to draw water, and the well is deep, where do you get living water? [interpretation: Looks like you are up a creek without a paddle! If you have water, where is it?] not giving Him a drink

She continues, “You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle, are you?” [interpretation: (reveling in her revenge) Who do you think you are? We are children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which makes us legitimate heirs in this land] not giving Him a drink

Jesus responded (again about the living water), “Everybody who drinks of this water will get thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never get thirsty any more. Instead, the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. (Jesus is intimating His superiority over the patriarchs of Israel). Then the woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” [interpretation: (in a sarcastic tone) Prove it to me!] still not giving Him a drink

Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come here.” (proving it through His knowledge of her). The woman replied by saying, “I don’t have a husband.” [interpretation: Oh crap! (probably in a sheepish but defiant tone)] still not giving Him a drink

Jesus countered that He knew she didn’t have one husband, but five! And that she doesn’t have a husband, indeed, but is living with a man. “You told the truth about that!” (as if nothing she had said thus far had been the truth). The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem–” [interpretation: Oh, you think you are so smart, Mr. Prophet, who do you think you are? If you’re so great, why aren’t you in Jerusalem with your own kind? (deflecting off of herself and her own sins) still not giving Him a drink

Jesus entered into a lengthy explanation for her about impending doom upon Israel, that salvation will come from the Jews, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and how to worship God properly–in spirit and truth. (He is patiently parleying with her). The woman said to Him, ” I know that the Messiah is coming, and He will make everything clear to us.” [interpretation: Yes, this is something we can agree upon, the Messiah, (while still not validating Him)] and still not giving Him a drink

Jesus said to her, “I am HE, the very One Who is speaking to you!” They were interrupted by the return of the disciples, and the woman left her water jar and ran off to the city and proclaimed Jesus Christ to everyone. still not having given Him a drink

This conversation must have gone on about 10, 15, 30 minutes, if not longer, because it sounds like they were talking much of the time the disciples were gone!

And this whole time our thirsty Savior was not given a drink of water by a lowly sinner!

This shows me that Jesus has eternal patience with women, even sinful women. That He cares about each of us and is willing to take the time necessary to overcome our bitterness and self-sabotage. Men in those days did not discourse with women like this, especially between cultures, clans, and classes! She was totally beneath Him in every way, yet He spent so much of His precious time saving her, probably one of the most sinful women of her city.

In this account are many good lessons to learn. First, God loves everyone and wishes that none should perish but all to have eternal life in Him. Second, we must spend time one-on-one with folks preaching the Good news of Jesus Christ, Who is the Living Water. And third, no one is ‘beneath’ us and our love and ministry. If Christ can lower Himself to care about the lowest class of people, the most sinful citizens of either gender, who might be breaking the law of God, we can too.

But most of all, Lord let me never not be willing to serve You (or Yours) a drink of water!!

For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. ~Mark 9:41

As a Child

I am reminded by Jesus that God cares most about what is inside me than what is outside me. Specifically in the way that I love Him and love my neighbor. This is sort-of hard to grasp because we usually think the meat of love is the expression of love, because after all, in biblical economy love is an action.

But as in mobius fashion, the ways of God are not always that easy to grasp. This is what is at the heart of the Mary and Martha story. Mary wanted to serve and love God first, and learn from Jesus by sitting at his feet, and that appeared selfish. Martha wanted to serve others first, by cooking and serving, and that was expected and acceptable by society standards. Not only did Jesus clarify that loving God over your neighbor comes first, but one’s heart-felt gentle expression of love is more important than working yourself to the bone doing what is expected. Remember that Martha loved Jesus too.

Expectation comes in many forms. Social mores “are preferred and socially sanctioned ways of behaving in any given society. Mores are the traditional customs and codes of behavior that are typically followed in a place or in a group but are not codified by law. In other words, mores are the unwritten rules of social behavior, backed by morality“. Mores are the unwritten expectations each culture or group places on a person in that group. Mores are a psychological term that represents a culture’s morality. It’s fundamentally a religion for the secular. And this can even creep into the Christian church. We just call it ‘legalism’. Christians already have a code of ethics given to us by God Himself and it is contained in the bible, and is sufficient.

As human beings, we are always judging and comparing others and their aura as it relates to us. Our brains scan and conduct micro-calculations below the surface of our awareness all the time. We note when people behave differently or outside what we are used to and we develop expectations for behavior this way. As we grow older, these expectations become more cemented in our mind. It is easy for us to become ‘close-minded’. That is why children and youth are more ‘easy going’ because these ideologies are not yet as fixed in their minds. Older folks scoff at the whimsicality of youth and think they ‘don’t know any better’ or ‘they will learn’. But Jesus warns about this when He says:

Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. ~Matthew 18:3

As with many, the full import of this verse did not register with me before, but now it does. Jesus wants us to be as children and youth in that they have not allowed rigid expectations to guide their thinking; they are simple-minded and single-minded in their approach to what they want. And what all Christians should want the most is a close, loving relationship with God. Not serving our neighbor and our neighbor’s expectations–or society’s mores–first, but Him first.

Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom!

‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ~Matthew 15:8-9

Oh, how often have we gone astray, even as believers, because we obey the doctrines of man (mores) over God’s commandments! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. (Matthew 23:26) The more I study and learn about the real God, the more I realize it is what is in the heart of man that matters first and foremost, followed by the outward action, because the action flows from the heart. No matter our intentions, or even our good deeds, if our heart harbors darkness, no light can issue forth from us. That is why He is most concerned about our inner selves, our heart, and our mind, because these affect our soul, and ultimately our very ability to love.

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” ~1 Samuel 16:7

We must have grace for others because only God can see into the true essence, or heart, of another. Once our heart is aligned and in love with God, then we can love our neighbor as we should. And this will be a lifelong process, which is called sanctification. This is why grace is so important. Grace is what replaces legalistic expectations of others in our mind, to keep us young in the Lord. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God and we have different sins that might plague us. We are called to exhort and gently rebuke each brother and sister to keep the biblical standard, but this must come from a soft place in our heart that has no condemnation.

For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. ~Romans 2:1

As soon as we judge others out of our rigid mores, we will be judged, for with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ~Matthew 7:2

God calls us to love as children do, completely and without expectation and judgment. ❤

God’s Nomenclature

Nomenclature means simply devising or choosing names for things. God gives general names to things as He creates them as shown in the first verses of the bible. Day and night. Light and dark. Matter and antimatter (waters/expanse/waters). Earth and seas. Grass and trees. Sun and moon. Swarmers in the sea and air. Cattle and creepers on the earth. Man and woman.

He then makes Adam a steward over all the earth and the creatures in it, and Adam is given the responsibility for giving each creation its name: Out of the ground the Lord GOD formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field…~Genesis 2:19-20

Adam may have given general names to animals, but through observation and study, Carolus Linnaeus in the mid-1700s refined these into a naming system called ‘binomial nomenclature’ based on a creature’s physical characteristics. This works by giving an animal a latin name based on a general category (genus) followed by a more specific characteristic (species) of it. Linnaeus was Christian who believed that God created everything. This term to identify animals and plants is still used today!

An example of binomial nomenclature is the name Tyrannosaurus rex. Tyrannosaurids were bipedal carnivores with massive skulls filled with large teeth. Despite their large size, their legs were long and proportioned for fast movement. In contrast, their arms were very small, bearing only two functional digits. This is the general category of its kind. Rex means king. That specifies that this creature was the largest of the tyrannosaurs.

We believe that this system works well for animals, but not for man, such as in Homo sapiens, etcetera, because ‘Homo’ is a genus of great apes, and the bible is clear that man is created on the last day by God, in His image. This is where science starts turning into atheistic philosophy and guesswork with the use of phytological trees and untenable links for presumed evolution between species.

And GOD called, “Make man in Our image and all in Our likeness; and may he have dominion over fish in the sea, and over birds in the heavens, and over cattle over all the earth, and over all creepers creeping on the earth.

And created GOD the holy man in His image.  Male and female He created them and GOD blessed them.

A great, brief article on the subject is written by Roger Patterson where he teaches us a new concept of creation called the ‘created kind’. “Created Kind (Baramin): the original organisms (and their descendants) created supernaturally by God as described in Genesis 1; these organisms reproduce only their own kind within the limits of preprogrammed information, but with great variation. A group of creation scientists called the Biology Study Group is currently attempting to classify animals within created kinds, or baramins (from the Hebrew bara—create and min—kind).”

Orchard Family Tree

Illustration from Dr. Kurt Wise and Creation Science Fellowship of Pittsburgh from the 1990 ICC Proceedings, Bob Walsh editor, vol. 2, p. 358.

As modern Christians, we must appreciate that we have been raised in an era of atheistic science and textbooks influencing our school curriculum since the 1950’s. As such, we need to rethink what we have been taught and assumed to be true. We do this by going back to the bible and lining out scientific understanding with scripture. If science fits scripture, we keep it, if not, we throw it out. The burden of proof is on those making their various hypotheses and theories, and so far, the bible has never been proved wrong.

All Sufficiency of Scripture

Forged by Fire

In the years following my atheistic separation and subsequent divorce, I was plagued with horrible feelings of death. I was either wanting to die or feeling like I was dying. I watched in dismay and hopelessness as my children parceled their way out of my life, and into my ex’s. This also felt like death. I would try to explain the despair to my friends. I would say to them, “I have lost my family,” or, “It’s like my children have died!” because the grief over losing them felt like death. They couldn’t understand! And this added to my grief. Even though they mostly listened to my lament, they disregarded this feeling and negated my experience, reassuring me that I did not lose my children or family. I felt like I literally needed to attend a grieving parent group for families of lost/dead children because they were the only ones who would be able to understand some of what I was feeling. Job became my kindred spirit because he also lost everything, yet even Job still had his wife! Then I stumbled upon this bible verse

But every man is tempted when of his own lust he is drawn away and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.

That this verse gave me comfort shows just how miserable a state I was in. There was something healing in God showing me a reason for the situation I was in, that it was of my own making. This knowledge gave me a starting place to work from.

As time went by and I leaned more and more into knowing God, He did heal me of my anguish and brought comfort to me. I got saved in Jesus. Then I began extending God’s love into each of my relationships, including my children and ex and his new family. This took years, and is still happening. It sometimes takes a long time to save a soul. I had tremendous difficulty forgiving myself for the anguish I had caused my children. Finally, after about 13 years I realized I was forgiven by God and the past was in the past. I was free to be who I am in the Lord.

I came to understand that feeling consuming thoughts of death and wanting to die means that your spirit inside you (your soul) is shouting at you that it’s time to die–to your old life. When sin has wreaked its havoc and death is occurring in small and large ways all around you, the bible teaches us this is inevitable when we follow the lust in our hearts. Satan has won. Or has he? Once death has occurred, there is no recovering that life or way of being, unless you want to be a walking zombie. The bible calls these those ‘who sleep’, like our modern-day term ‘zombie’. The walking dead.

Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ~1 Corinthians 15:18

But God is a life-giver and wants to restore us to the way He sees us and who He made us to be. As the great sinner King David once sang, ‘Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, uphold me by Your generous Spirit‘! We get off track when we do not follow His plan for us, and the only way back is to repent and humble ourselves and turn back.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

It’s now been 14 years since my devastating divorce and loss of my family as I knew it. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to me in memory, and I counsel people against divorce now because of what I know and have been through. But I also have the hindsight and understanding through God now that even though we all suffered an excruciating death of life as we had known it, we had to so that He could restore ALL of us to new life in Him. My children and ex might not be aware of this, but I am. The path we were on, largely due to us and our sin against God, would have led us all into certain destruction and eternal death. God, in His sovereign mercy knew this and stopped it. He allowed my marriage to die so that I could be born anew from the ashes. And save everyone in the process. Indeed, there was really no other way we all could have been saved, or else I think He would have made a way for that. He is omniscient where we are blind. But now I am beginning to see.

Poor Judas. He was a necessary part of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but woe to him for being that pawn. He chose suicide because he too felt the gravity of what he had done and could see no hope. Judas could have realized his feelings of wanting to die just meant his old heart was hardened and he needed a spiritual death, not a physical one. He could have called out and repented to Jesus and been forgiven and saved, but he chose the prideful and selfish way out, which is what suicide is. Killing others is also the epitome of selfishness. Wanting to kill and die is your soul song crying out to you that it’s time to cleave from your old life and be born again in Jesus Christos. The alternative is hell for eternity, the bible teaches us.

It is better for part of you to perish than to be thrown into hell. ~Matthew 5:29

As I come out of those old atheistic ways and forge a new path with God, I am taking all that love and forging new relationships with my children based on Jesus’ Way. I am also bringing that into my friendships, acquaintanceships, work, and other realms. Now that I am saved I am sailing around everyone one-by-one extending a hand to those still drowning and offering them safety in my God-given lifeboat. Some have come aboard. Will you?

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ~John 3:3

I will not stop trying until God takes my breath away. I see now that once I was on the path to destruction, He always intended to bring me out of it, I just did not fathom it because I couldn’t. I was like an ant and He is God. Now I am His soldier fighting for Him.

~Selah

All of God’s Names

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. ~Genesis 1:26-27

It’s interesting that God created man in His image. He could have made man any way He wanted, but He made us like Him. That means we were not created as an animal or micro-organism, but as people that have His characteristics in appearance and personality. Also of note is that when God was first creating things, He made the Holy Spirit, and they made Jesus (YHWH). THEN everything was created through Yahweh, the Son of God, because God was giving Jesus dominion from the beginning even though the man of Jesus would not be born in human form for thousands of years.

All things through Him were made, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. ~John 1:3

God has numerous facets to His person. You could say His personality is limitless, of course, and man over millenia have given Him names based on their experiences with Him. I was going to make an exhaustive list but found others have done it far better than I would have, so I linked it here.

The most important things to know about God’s names are that He begins existence as we know it, and He is Infinite in personality, and both of these facts about Him are illustrated in His very name. To begin with, His name starts with the first letter of the alphabet because He is the First. His Hebrew name is ALHYM. Most translate this as ‘Elohim’ but I prefer the original Hebrew lettering because A is not only silent (as He is) but it is obviously understood as the beginning, because A is the first letter of our alphabet. Even more interestingly, ALHYM is also plural in and of itself, because anytime Hebrew shows the YM at the end of words, it’s a tip-off that it is plural, or means more than one, otherwise, the M is left off. So in the very first words of the bible God is telling us He is first and He is plural. He is the OG of multiple personalities, but in Him it is not pathological. He is all things to all men, just as we are called to be.

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית Bereshith (In the beginning) בָּרָ֣א Bara’ (created) אֱלֹהִ֑ים ALHYM (God Almighty) ~Genesis 1:1

These are the FIRST THREE WORDS in the bible. Note that God is plural before He created the Holy Spirit or Yahweh, which make up the Holy Trinity.

Father God’s names mean:

Creator, Strongman, Sovereign, Mighty, Everlasting, Seer, Father, Knower, Ancient One

Yahweh/Jesus’ name is I AM THAT I AM, or simply I AM. It is not plural.

His names mean:

Creator, Life Giver, Sanctifier, Forgiver, Shepherd, Friend, Family, HEALER, Righteous One, Provider, Protector, King, Peace Giver, Lord, Judge

Then we come to the final person of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit in Hebrew is ruach: Spirit, wind, breath Original Word: רוּחַ
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine Definition: Spirit, wind, breath
Meaning: wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, a region of the sky, spirit

And in Greek is pneuma: Spirit, wind, breath Original Word: πνεῦμα Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter AND paraklétos (male): Advocate, Helper, Comforter, Counselor

It is usually attached to one of God’s names or Jesus’ names in the bible, as a force given to help man. As I have related before, I believe this is a feminine Spirit, but perhaps it also has male attributes due to its parakletos nature. The Holy Spirit acts like a glue or invisible cord to connect God and His Son to man, primarily to comfort, but also to heal, prophecy, and to bring justice when needed. The Holy Spirit is arguably the most ambiguous of the Trinity. It’s ethereal, effervescent, but also grounded in that it comes down from heaven and can be everywhere at the will of God. It is invisible and points to God the Father and the Son, who are more tangible.

I cannot help but notice that this is how women are. God has imbued women with the ability to be helpers to their men. And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” ~Genesis 2:18. Men who pass this up are making a grave mistake in that they are overlooking a pearl of great value available to them. This is not to say that every wife will have the power of the Holy Spirit, but that as created in His image, women are given gifts that men are not privy to and probably cannot even understand.

Finally, all of us are called to be all things to all men:

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. ~1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Just as God was All things to us first. ❤

How do Christians Forgive?

The word forgive in the New Testament is usually written using two Greek words. Strong’s Concordance entry 863 ἀφίημι (aphiemi) comes from two Greek root words. Word Origin: From ἀπό (apo, meaning “off”) and ἵημι (hiemi, meaning “to send” or “to let go”). With the proper interpretation, this word means to ‘off put’ or ‘to not send’ or ‘to not give’: forgive. A more subtle form of forgive as in ‘to release’.

Strong’s Concordance entry 868 ἀφίστημι (aphistemi) comes also from two Greek root words. Word Origin: From ἀπό (apo, meaning “from”) and ἵστημι (histemi, meaning “to stand”); a stronger form of forgive as in ‘to withdraw’.

The first version is used 10 times more often in the New Testament.

To forgive is an action. Not a feeling. It was originally meant in the context of holding back punishment to those who took something from you or caused you harm and deserved retribution. Jesus’ teaching was revolutionary in so many ways, but one striking thing he is noted for is twisting the literal interpretations of the Pharisees and Sadducees into figurative interpretations. As Jesus did with so many concepts in the natural realm, He also applied them to the spiritual realm, and turned the meaning of forgiveness from something observable to something more related to the heart, exemplified by the Lord’s Prayer and explained in the book of Matthew.

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. ~Matthew 6:9-15

So we can see that it is necessary to forgive, as illustrated above. But HOW Christians forgive is not explained above. Biblical scripture all works together in bits and pieces (or jots and tittles 🙂 ) to teach us everything we need to know to love God and love our neighbor; in essence to please God. Our scripture is sufficient. But to get the full meaning, we must study all the words in the bible to put it all together. That is what systematic theology does. One section of verses might tell us one thing, while another fleshes out the story. That is the case with forgiveness, and how to forgive. Each verse is not necessarily exhaustive, but it might be. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus tells us we must forgive, and why we must forgive, but He doesn’t tell us in this particular passage how to forgive. That is brought to us by Jesus through Luke, who travelled with the Apostle Paul as in the passage below:

Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” ~Luke 17:1-4

So HOW Christians forgive one another, is to off-send or off-cast or for-give an offense done to you after the person repents.

Forgiveness is an act of mercy for the person who sins against you, not a thought-experiment for you to feel better.

If God is our example for everything, we should ask, “How does God forgive us?” Does He just forgive us instantly when we sin? NO! We must repent to Him first, then he will forgive us: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ~1 John 1:9 “Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased…~Acts 3:19

As with everything in the world (which is run by the devil) he flips the script and people–especially Christians–walk around with the wrong concept of what forgiveness means. Most would say that forgiveness is something that only needs to happen in the heart, that it is an act of thought or willfulness that you will not harbor ill will toward someone who has wronged you. This is accurate but is only half of the story. The most important part of forgiveness is left out of this equation. The bible teaches clearly that if you are the one who was sinned against, you are to go to your brethren and tell him his fault between you and he alone. See below:

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ~Matthew 18:15

We are commanded to do this. If he or she will not listen to you, then you are to go seek one or two other folks who can go with you to make your case against them. This is important because the most important thing for our well-being as Christians is for a sinner to repent of his sin unto God first and foremost! Otherwise, to remain in unrepentant sin is a very bad thing: But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. ~Romans 2:5

Against You only have I sinned and done evil in Your sight; that you may be found just when You speak and blameless when You judge.

The devil is duping Christians into a false understanding of forgiveness, so that we are not helping our brethren to get right with God by pointing out their sin. If we only pray and think about forgiving someone who has hurt us and we do not go to that person and tell him/her sin against us, we are actually sinning against God and our neighbor, because we are not doing what the scriptures command us to do. Ironic, isn’t it?

Now, if we are never approached by our sinful brethren when they sin against us, or if they refuse to repent to us for their wrongdoing when we confront them, we are still commanded to not harbor hate in our hearts. But this is a constant commandment from Jesus, for he who hates his brother in his heart has already committed murder against him. How do we do this? How do we not harbor hatred against those who have sinned against us? We use our armor given to us by God. We use our shield of faith with which we quench all the fiery darts of the wicked ones, because our battle is not with flesh and blood anyway. We use our feet to spread the gospel of peace. We have our helmet on which provides salvation for us. We overcome hate with love:

Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; and pray for those who spitefully use you. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Christians do not need a thought-experiment in their secret place to ‘forgive’ their perpetrators. Jesus has already told us how to conduct ourselves as Christians.

The other way we deal with forgiveness is when we ourselves sin against another. Again, Jesus and the entire bible tells us clearly how to navigate this. You simply repent and ask for forgiveness. But that isn’t the end of the story. God does call Christians to a higher level of communion with each other than we would have with those in the world, or unbelievers. He discusses this in some passages where He also shows how Christians should differ in their heart from the orthodox Jews of the time.

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ~Matthew 5:23-24

The Greek word here for ‘against you’ means intense opposition. This could mean an enemy, or it could mean just that person with whom you give a wide berth to. Jesus is showing that Christians should not have fences around themselves but should be loving one another and living in communion with one another. That is the ideal way Christians should live. God doesn’t want us making offerings to Him (to love Him) when we are not getting along and loving each other the way He wants us to.

In SUMMARY:

You sin > Ask for forgiveness

Your brethren sins > Go and tell him his fault; convict him of his sin, taking as many witnesses as needed to help him repent and turn. If he repents, then forgive him as often as he repents.

Either way, do not harbor malice in your heart against anyone. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.

~Selah

Can Christians Have a Demon?

I believe that Satan and his demons can reside in living things which draw breath. This includes animals and man. This is one of the three ways problems can come upon man. The other two ways are sin, and organic disease. Indeed, to not believe in this would be to deny Christ, as so much of Christ’s ministry (and later, His apostles’) was in casting out demons.
 
As a true crime junkie, I often wonder how often serial killers or other criminals are ‘possessed’ by demons. At least some of them are. People tell the same stories about how their ‘eyes went black’ and ‘he became a different person’. Now, most of the time criminal behavior is due to straight-up sin, so we cannot give the devil all the credit. But I do think a significant portion can be attributed to Satan and his demons.
 
I posted the story recently about Jesus saving the demoniac. In those days, a man was inhabited by numerous evil spirits who called themselves ‘Legion’, and he had been kicked out of town and was living on the edge of town, in the place where they buried the dead, among the corpses. The demons inside the man recognized Jesus and begged Him not to hurt them and requested that they be cast into a neighboring herd of swine. They probably did not realize that the swine would go mad and race down the hill into the sea and drown, but that is exactly what happened.
 
Since 1614 The Catholic Church has authorized the use of exorcism for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession. In my lifetime, the Catholic religion became infamous in the 1970’s for their belief in demon-possession and exorcism, exemplified by the movie, ‘The Amityville Horror’. I remember being on vacation in Oklahoma as a little girl and my big sister got to go see this movie with our friends, and I was forced to stay home. Of course, I had no idea how scary that movie was and am glad now I wasn’t allowed to see it. Anyway, I do not think the perpetrator, Ronald DeFeo Jr., was demon-possessed. I think he was influenced by the perfect storm of drug and alcohol abuse, the provocation of his father’s poor parenting habits, and his sins (namely anger and who knows what else) combined with his father’s sins. He was raised in a Catholic household, so the name of Jesus would have been heard and voiced, even if Jesus was not personally known by Ronald Jr. 
 
In the 1970’s the concept of psychiatry and psychology had taken root and its practitioners began to provide counseling and ‘mental health services’ to those who struggled with problems that they could not overcome. Even the Catholic church bought into this ideology and began telling people they probably did not have a spiritual problem but a ‘mental health problem’ and the priests offloaded their patrons to these practitioners. Fast forward to today and we can see that those who came long before us actually were closer to the truth: that what really ailed these folks WAS spiritual, not ‘mental’. There was no ‘mental’ until it was separated out as its own idea. Spiritual WAS what encompassed ‘mental’ back then. That knowledge was taken from us by Satan himself. He was tired of being seen for what he was, a harbinger of destruction. He was tired of being called out and cast out. So he camouflaged not himself, but the problem, so that man could no longer see him as clearly.
 
Characteristics of the demon-possessed individual
 

What the Church views as signs of demonic invasion vary depending on the type of demon and its purpose, including:

    • Using languages unknown to the person or people around them.
    • Having extraordinary strength or resistance to physical restraint.
    • Knowledge of events or people that the person could not have possibly known.
    • An aversion to holy objects or places, such as holy water or churches.
    • Self-harming and displaying violent or aggressive behaviour.
    • Ailments or conditions that cannot be diagnosed or treated medically.
    • Having hallucinations or hearing voices not attributable to drug or alcohol use or abuse
    • An abrupt change in behavior or personality.
    • Sudden spiritual dryness.
    • Expelling of objects or animals through the mouth.

In Hostage to the Devil, Malachi Martin also mentions a type of demonic attack called “familiarization”. He writes:

“

The possessing spirit in “familiarization” is seeking to “come and live with” the subject. If accepted, the spirit becomes the constant and continuously present companion of the possessed. The two “persons”, the “familiar” and the “possessed”, remain separate and distinct. The “possessed” is aware of his “familiar”.

”

The last book of the bible, the book of The Revelation of John, explains that the dragon (Satan) recruited a third of the angelic realm to join him in rebelling against the Lord. This third of the angelic realm are called demons. Demons are fallen angels, which move between heaven and earth doing the bidding of the enemy. Demons may bring torment to believers and unbelievers, and they may indwell both believers and unbelievers as shown in the Gospels.

The bible says the way of the transgressor is hard; the transgressors being those who do not know God. The bible also says: 

It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. ~Hebrews 11:6

As you might already know, the subject of demon-possession is not without some controversy, especially as it regards Christians. Some Christians believe that once they are justified (saved) in Christ, no demon can enter him, and others disagree. They believe Christians can be heavily plagued, or even inhabited, by demons. Wayne Grudem argues in his Systematic Theology (2004) that the translation “demon possessed” which is common in many modern versions of the bible does not actually reflect the Greek. The Greek term really just means “to have demons.” Jesus validated the term to ‘have a demon’ in reference to God’s people many times in his discourse with Pharisees. The Old Testament speaks of some Israelites having a demon, namely King Saul. So, it is possible for believers to be plagued by demons.

I call it ‘dancing with demons’ when they are still outside of a person, seeking entrance. ‘Having a demon’ implies they have entered the person. To be clear, all prominent Christian scholars agree that a person cannot lose their salvation in Christ, but that he can be given over to various afflictions by the devil and his demons while alive; and can become a slave to Satan, instead of Jesus Christ.

This is a good article on the subject: https://bible.org/seriespage/9-can-christians-be-demonized-or-possessed .

I also believe that the Devil and his demons can inhabit animals and use them to wage war on humans. I came to understand this after watching a movie that made me consider the phenomenon of demon possession in animals. It is a documentary called “Night of the Grizzlies“, and it is based on the book of the same name about two fatal grizzly bear attacks occurring minutes apart on the same night in Glacier National Park. As a Christian, I do not believe in coincidence or that things just happen randomly. God is sovereign and He orchestrates everything that happens, even as He allows the devil to rule this earth.

I cannot overlook the significance of the Glacier Park killings which both occurred in two 19-year-old blonde girls on the night of August 13, 1967, by two different bears about 8 miles apart. As I recall it was a ‘windy night’ and get chills thinking about Satan sending his demons into those bears to do his dirty deeds. I know at least one of the girls was a Christian, and probably the other as well. They were in the park working as seasonal employees. This particular night they were both camping with friends in two popular places in the park. One admittedly was near a notorious bear feeding ground, but the other was not. These bears literally went mad, killed these girls, and drug their bodies away to store as a food cache. The bears had to be hunted down and killed by park rangers. What a horrific tale. I know that night that the devil sent his demons to that region of the wilderness to kill those girls. Interestingly, a Catholic priest was present on vacation in that locale on that very night, and minstered to one of the girls before she died.

The GOOD NEWS

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ~James 4:7

The Good news is that Jesus came to save sinners. And if you abide in Christ, you cannot sin (1 John 3:6) and the devil cannot obtain a foothold. What does it mean to abide in Christ? While the Apostle Paul, the greatest evangelist in the early church, was imprisoned in his last days on earth he reminded us that we are all soldiers in God’s army. And as a soldier, we also need to put on armor, except our armor is not physical armor, it is spiritual armor. This is because our enemies are spiritual, not physical. The best way to abide in Christ is to don our armor daily. Stephen Armstrong lays it out very well in his bible study from 2017. I will summarize below.

Our Defensive Weapons:

  • Belt of truth
  • Breastplate of righteousness
  • Shoes of evangelism
  • Shield of faith
  • Helmet of salvation

Our Offensive Weapons:

  • Sword of the Spirit (the word of God)
  • Praying always in the Spirit

If we wear our armor daily, the devil will not be able to gain a foothold to tear us down. Then we will also be able to help our brethren who are falling to demonic activity.

Test the Spirits

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ~ 1 John 4:1-4

But just wearing armor daily is not enough. You must love the Lord your GOD with ALL your heart, soul, mind, and strength in this war because love is what it all comes down to. Love is the essence of why God created us. Without love, nothing else matters. Without love, we fail. To fully love God, we have to continue in our sanctification (purity, refinement) DAILY, replacing those old sinful habits with righteous ones. If we are lackadaisical or haphazard about this–Jesus called it being lukewarm–then we actually set ourselves up for MORE failure, ironically.

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils……When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.” ~Luke 11:21-22; 24-26

The best way to know if you are protected in the Lord, and abiding enough in Him, is to see the fruit that is produced when you walk in The Way of Christ. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. The devil cannot live in this realm. If you are lacking some of this fruit, you are opening a door for demons to enter in and destroy you, and I admonish you to work on that.

So, yes, even Christians can have a demon, unfortunately, but this usually occurs in folks who have long-ago abandoned God, or who have a heart turned against God. By far, the usual cause of man’s problems is sin itself, not demons.

Selah~

Agape Love

My realization today is that I have always been the person in the room who has loved the hardest. The intensity of my love is fierce. Those who have known me describe me as ‘intense’, and people often have to create distance from me because I am more than they can handle. Since I was born, I have poured out all my love to those around me. But since I was conceived, I was not loved like I love. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. I have made peace with this, my reality. But I realize today it has been the most characteristic thing about me, and the thing which–at the bottom of everything else–defines me.

The bible speaks about the devil as a roaring lion who prowls around seeking whom he may devour. That is what I feel like, except instead of wanting to destroy someone, I want to love with them. I understand today that all my life I have been seeking those who love like I do. I have been searching out love, REAL love. I have found the world’s best versions of love. But it was never sustainable. And to be honest, it was usually because the other person or people fell away, or backed away, or just could not sustain it. I am NOT saying I was never at fault; I was. I am a sinner extraordinaire. But for the most part, it wasn’t me, it was them who did not want the intense love I brought.

The Ancient Greeks had different types of love, elaborated in four main categories:

  1. Eros: sexual passion and desire.
  2. Philia: deep friendship.
  3. Ludus: playful love.
  4. Agape: love for everyone.
  5. Pragma: longstanding love.

I have had all these loves the world has to offer. But I did not know agape love until Christ saved me. ALL of those other loves failed me. And I know they fail others.

For a long time, I thought that my fellow Christians would be able to share–and return–that elusive agape love with me. But I have found even they are really not capable of it. Yes, they have the fruits of the Spirit we look for to know who carries the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But they just don’t have it in the measure I do. I really don’t mean this to sound conceited. I don’t hold it in my heart that way, and I don’t think about it that way. It’s just that now that I am here in my walk with the Lord, and I have had opportunities to commune with born-again Christians, I see they are still not that much different than the world. Yes, they are different, and if the world were ending, they are who I would look to for solace, camaraderie, and comfort; but they still are not capable of meeting my love head-on.

Whereas loving others in the world, or unbelievers, they just sort-of take you like you are, and everything (and anything) goes. They don’t know truth or right from wrong because they don’t know the Word. That is a superficial, evil sort of love which isn’t really love at all, but it masks itself as love. Anyone can fake love for a while, because, “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)

On the other hand, Christians know Truth, and the Word, but they want to put me in a box, they want to fence me in with their idea of what love is. Usually this involves some kind of expected behavior on my part. I am not talking biblical behavior. I believe in 100% of the word of God in the bible, and to err from the word of God is sin. I do not believe in taking away, or adding to, what the inspired word of God says. But most Christians have this learned churchy ideology that is not in the bible, or that they have extrapolated from the bible. It might be ‘legalistic’ but it is also ‘new agey and mystical’. And the love I have to offer doesn’t match it. So, then the undercurrent of tension sets in. I am not functioning in the way they think I should function; therefore I see doubt creep into their mind that maybe I am not a good Christian, or not walking with God. When the truth is, I have come to know, that I am walking with God more than they are. Then the distance begins to set in. Again.

I do not fit in a box. I never have and I never will.

What is this love, and why do I have it in larger measure? I have not really thought of it as a gift before, because it has always set me apart. And things that cleave you from others don’t usually feel like attributes, or gifts. But maybe it is a gift. Maybe God gives me the ability to love harder because I am honestly His messenger of love. I really don’t know any other viable explanations.

The world might try and label me as ‘co-dependent’ or ‘borderline personality disorder’ or ‘clingy’ or something like that. And I have been guilty of the actions that warrant these labels. But I am so much more than those things, and my love is PURE for the most part. I will not drown someone else to save myself. I usually always put others over myself. I am the one who walks away when the writing is on the wall, when people show they don’t really love me, or when people are mean to me.

So many people are mean. And I am talking about Christians here. Especially when they cannot conscribe me to their idea for me of what I should be or look like. They do not appreciate my unusual gifts such as healing. And they don’t want to even get close enough to me to see all the things below the surface that are hiding, waiting to be used by God. I have tried to analyze this phenomenon in my life ad nauseum and have not come much closer to elucidation, but I sense that people just can’t figure me out and literally don’t know what to do with me. I seem to confound people. Then because they don’t understand me, they distance themselves from me.

Their love doesn’t even scratch the surface of who I am.

So, I continue on, seeking in others the love I have been given in great measure. I have come to understand that I probably won’t find it on this earth, that it is otherworldly; it is God’s love from His realm. The best way I can honor this love I have been given is to share it with those He sends me and sends me to, because He has given me this ability to love deeply for a reason, and even if I am not sure exactly how to use it, He does. ❤

God, Yahweh, and the Fire: The Holy Trinity

Moses had escaped from his elevated status in Egypt into the Wilderness of Sinai to forego Pharoah’s wrath for murdering an Egyptian taskmaster, and there had become Jethro’s son-in-law. Jethro was the Midian High Priest. Moses seems to have lived and worked with Jethro for 40 years before being sent on his mission back to Egypt to lead the Hebrew people out of captivity. I believe it was during this era that the Essenic movement was created, by Jethro and Moses; God’s holy line of true priests.

Yahweh was sent by God to deliver His people from bondage because the children of Israel groaned and cried out to God due to their difficult lives in Egypt. Their cry came up to God and God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob and He acknowledged them. God sent Yahweh to save them in the form of an angel, and this angel called to Moses in the midst of a fire of a burning bush.

But as valuable as Moses was to God, God would not allow him to look at the Holy Spirit.

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 

Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” Moreover, 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 upon God. ~Exodus 3:1-6

Yahweh was officially introduced into the biblical narrative in Exodus Chapter 3.Yahweh is the I AM WHO I AM. Yahweh in the Old Testament is Jesus in the New Testament. Yahweh is the living word of God.

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ ~Exodus 3:13-15

The Holy Spirit is unofficially introduced to us in Exodus Chapter 3 as well, as the fire in the burning bush that was not consumed. Other places where this sacred fire existed are as a pillar leading the Hebrews through the Red Sea and the Wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. ~Exodus 13:21-22

After the miraculous feat of the parting of the Red Sea, and the ever-constant presence of the Holy Spirit fire and cloud; God told Moses He wanted to meet with him on Mount Horeb in the Sinia Peninsula. The purpose of this was to give the Hebrews a law to live by so that they could serve Him righteously as His people.

God said: “For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people”…Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord (Yahweh) descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. ~Exodus 19:11; 16-20

God gave His people the law as a placeholder until Jesus would come and fulfill the law, replacing the law with faith in Jesus, Yahweh. Jesus had not yet come to the earth, but existed with Almighty God ALHYM as LORD Yahweh, and usually appeared with fire, the Holy Spirit. Moses received the Law in the form of the 10 Commandments from the Lord GOD whom the Apostle Paul would expound upon 1400 years later:

What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. ~Galatians 3:19, 23-25

And, the law was a placeholder for Christ.

You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ~Hebrews 10:8-10

God has been giving us the guiding and comforting force of His Trinity from the beginning. If we seek Him, we shall find Him. Yahweh was Jesus in Spirit. The fire and breath of God are the Holy Spirit. Neither ever changes. They both appeared to men in the Old and New Covenant days to protect, guide, and deliver God’s chosen ones, such as when Daniel’s companions were thrown into the Fiery Furnace, and when tongues of fire rested on the Apostles on the infamous Day of Pentecost. The difference is that after Jesus became the living lamb of God for those who receive Him, the Holy Spirit is able to penetrate believers so as to make them literally the holy temple of the Lord. Before Jesus, the Holy Spirit was always outside of man. After Jesus, the Holy Spirit can indwell man.

Coming of the Holy Spirit

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they (the Apostles) were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ~Acts 2:1-

Jesus is a free gift. Once He is received, He sends the Holy Spirit to the person. Like his own private angel. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?