In my first or second year as a believer my mom went to see Rabbi Tovia Singer speak at some temple, she heard he was a Jew skilled at bringing converts back to Judaism...for only a low cost of $70 she could purchase his set of cd's, and bam the light would be put out and I would be back to a secular agnostic jew living in depression and poor choices again. I guess anythings better than that obnoxious born again daughter in the family who keeps persisting that Jesus is real and he is the Messiah that we all need to humble ourselves and accept if we're ever to mend our brokenness and be whole again. So, I listened to his cd once again where he attempts to dismantle the trinity. The trinity is always a big stumbling block for both Jews and Muslims...how can God who is One possibly be three? How can God who so often reminds us that he is One be manifested as Father, Son, Holy Spirit....isn't this the highest form of blasphemy?!
Well the answer begins on page 1 of Genesis. In the beginning, literally the first page first verse of Gods Word proclaims "In the beginning Elohim created heaven and earth. It goes on for a bit in this pattern: "Elohim said...so there was....it was good" again "Elohim said...so there was....it was good" and repeat ...and it was ALL good. But theres some interesting things when we just pause and chew the cud of Gods Word for a bit. First lets point out that when God speaks He uses different names in scripture.... and there is profound meaning in each name. Elohim for example is used about 2600 times. Its shorter version "El" is used 238 times. El means "One true God" . Elohim is a plural version of One true God; and God uses Elohim in the beginning were he creates. The mystery of the trinity is literally given to its readers on the first page and first statement of the Bible! Again on page 1; Elohim creates man and Elohim says in Genesis "Let us make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness" Again, Elohim gives us these clues to unlock the mystery of the trinity and possibility that GOD can be both ONE and PLURAL somehow. He goes on in His creation and awesome story to show us. When man and woman unite in marriage we become "one flesh"...again two becomes one. When God pours out the Holy Spirit...the exact qualities and character of God to reside in us...we are invited to join Spirit with the Spirit of God...to unite and become One. We're not invited to worship and Glory with God based on our own spiritual merit, but its the invitation of the bridegroom uniting with us (the bride) that grants us favor to unite with him eternally. I mean, if your eyes are opened its truly everywhere in Gods Word and in creation itself. Just awe in that fact for a moment before you read on....go on and chew the cud, lets get Kosher.
Tonight at church, we had a guest speaker reading from John 14:
John 14 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
I started pondering twins again (another blessing Elohim has granted me in this life, and ironically something I did not want, similar to my views on becoming a born again Christian, both were the absolute furthest choices from my heart, looked at with great annoyance! I would have never picked for myself in my ignorant state, yet God knew...he BLESSED me with both despite my inability to understand)...I've wondered since my twins were born and with so many twins seemingly appearing everywhere in my life...( another friend who became a born again believer had twin girls, my best friend from high school had identical twin boys, my good friend and college roommate also had identical twin boys, another dear friend from high school's ex husband whom I introduced her too had just had twins....and ANOTHER gal i knew ALSO had twin girls..ALL in the same time period as my boys and ALL without medical interventions!! And the kicker, the gal who I worked with who witnessed to me and had JUST started working with me had identical twin boys about 7 years old, RIGHT at the time I became preggers with my twins...her name was also Jen, we both kinda look like Jennifer Anniston and we both have July birthdays....but shes MUCH shorter and sweeter than I, ha! WHAT is the symbolism of THIS??!, WHAT is the message through twins God is trying to teach me??!!. Now 7 years later, God has blessed me with this wisdom.
Now God, who is ONE, who is HOLY, has manifested Himself as Father, Son, Holy Spirit. He is of ONE SUBSTACE, ONE character , PERFECT.
My twins, or any twins who are identical. They are the result of ONE egg, same DNA which is unexplainably (or as one book explained it "random freak accident") split into two eggs...EACH egg containing the SAME DNA...which is why they LOOK identical. Jesus says in John "Anyone who has seen me, has seen the father". If you have SEEN one of my boys, you have seen the other, for they are made of the same DNA and look the SAME. God gives us twins to display this powerful truth and possibility that One can be manifested as more then one and yet somehow still be the same. In marriage, God takes two people and makes ONE flesh...that One flesh unites together.
Now, I have more to say and thoughts on fraternal twins, because I know there is great symbollism in this as well. The first children in the world were twins! Cain and Abel, one who worships authentically and honestly, the other not so much. Then Jacob and Esau...and God states He hates esau..which REALLY always had tripped me up as Im sure it has confused others, especially in light of Jacob lying and deceiving his way to jockey position. But alas, we are a broken people, not earning salvation on our own merit but on mercy alone and this is more proof of Gods mercy on some and his wrath on others. Paul states in Romans 9:22 -24
"What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
Paul goes on to quote OT prophets Hosea and Isaiah so pay attention!!!
Hosea:
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
2 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
2 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.
We know there are truly two spirits in this world...the Spirit of Elohim (Christ) and the spirit of the anti-Christ.....that is it. We are merely lumps of clay with weak fleshly spirits that are as futile as the wind blowing or a wave crashing. We are here today and gone tomorrow as the song goes. We are but lumps of clay with God given breath...where do you stand? The spirit of God reaches out to you spirit man with an arm of salvation and saving Grace, even though you are now an enemy of Him...that's what He does, He has pity on you and is willing to save you...will you humble yourself today and let Him?
