And gone is @Johann. :)
(Maybe he has something to do away from this forum, like I did. Mine was lawn work. Now it’s lunch, then another commitment that will take me away and occupy my time and attention for a few hours.)
Selective reasoning, circular reasoning-I have a Hellenistic mindset?
Does the New Testament turn a mere man into God? This is what New Testament critic
Rabbi Daniel Asor thinks:
“The Bible rejects pagan idolatry that revolves around human-like gods, men as gods.”
Correct. In the pagan cultures of the East, gurus climb up a religious ladder until they get to the highest step of becoming a god. This is idolatry without a doubt.
But is that what the Bible and the New Testament teach? Of course not! But the rabbis want you to think it is.
According to the OT, God is not human. Rather, God is spirit. However as we’ve already mentioned in another video, God can choose to reveal himself in whatever form he pleases. This is what he did throughout the whole Bible. The NT doesn’t dream up something new. It clarifies what the OT has presented already in its entirety. Namely that God will reveal himself to us in the person of the Messiah.
Rabbi Tovia Singer mocks this idea:
“Whoever thinks that God came down to us, manifested as anything, whether as cottage cheese or Jesus, such a person is going to the eternal fire of hell.”
Let’s put the rabbis aside for a minute, take a deep breath, and with unbiased eyes look at the what the OT itself teaches, what Judaism during the time of the second temple believed, and even what the Sages believed regarding the deity of the Messiah.
METATRON
Did you know that according to the book of the Zohar and the writings of the Sages, Metatron1, described as the prince of the world and power of God, has the characteristics of God himself? He is the highest being in the celestial hierarchy. Just like God himself, he too sits on God’s throne of glory. And on his head he wears the crown through which the universe was created. His attire is God’s light and is called “the little God”. Professor Idel, head of the department in Jewish thought at Hebrew University describes Metatron’s nature and position as “Half man, half God… he fixes the problem of human sin and fulfills humans actual purpose.”
The book of the Zohar continues describing the character and nature of Metatron as one carrying the image of God, representing God to his creation. He’s described as the angel of the covenant, as the son of God. As the small God, as God’s firstborn. As mediator to God. As overseer to the tree of life, as the King’s representative, responsible for the whole creation, and more.
It’s interesting enough, that whoever reads the NT will discover that Jesus the Messiah is defined in the exact same way. But the NT was written a long time before the Zohar and the rest of the Sages’ literature was written.
Even though the Sages did understand that God does reveal himself to humanity, they chose not to recognize Jesus, the God-sent Messiah. And therefore, they made for themselves a substitute for him: Metatron.
THE IDEA THAT GOD REVEALS HIMSELF TO HUMANITY IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN IS BASED ON THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES
The OT is full of examples and prophecies that the promised Messiah will be God himself. In his love he’ll reveal himself to us, suffer with and for us. He will die and bring a perfect sacrifice for our sins. We’ve created videos on the topic of the suffering Messiah.
Now we’d like to go through some examples to show that the God of the OT does reveal himself in the likeness of men, coming as the Messiah.Let’s start with Genesis 3.
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
This means that Adam and Eve are talking to and are physically with God who’s walking in the Garden.
In Genesis 18 we read about Abraham our father.
“And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.” Genesis 18:1-3
Further into the chapter, in verse 22, the text says explicitly:
“So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.”
While the angels are leaving God stayed with Abraham.
“YHWH”, THE LORD, HE IS THE ONE WHO APPEARED TO ABRAHAM.
And Abraham indeed identifies one of the angels as God. For this reason he bows before him and invites him to eat with him. The Talmud acknowledges this too. In the tractate Bava Metzia 76 God himself comes to visit Abraham. Rabbi Steinsaltz interprets the passage:
“He came out and saw the Lord, stand in the entrance. He who said: “Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.” Let’s continue to read: In verse 13 God, who is eating with Abraham, asks him a question: “The LORD said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh…'”
These verses cannot be understood in a different way: One of the three is identified as God himself. And he promises Abraham to come back in a year after a son has been born to Sarah. Sarah hears that and laughs and God answers her. There is no other way in which this chapter can be understood. Abraham, Sarah and God took part in this dinner and conversation, being physically present.
--continue
@Matthias