Tuesday, June 8, 2010 1:16 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"
Dear Eiko,
Again How are you?
your words are deep and you reply quick these days...
anyway,sorry for the late reply...i just attached here a piece of writing that helps to see that spirit creatures mentioned as Gods does not conflict with the christian doctrine that there is only one GOD.
Does being “divine” or godlike mean that Jesus Christ is himself almighty and coeternal with God the Father?
It is true that trinitarians attach special significance to the divine status of Jesus. They even employ a special non-Biblical Greek term, homoousios (“of one substance,” or “of one essence”), in this regard. The New Catholic Encyclopedia explains under the heading “Consubstantiality,” which is an English rendering of homoousios: “The consubstantiality defined by [the Council] Nicaea I [325 C.E.], then, . . . affirms essentially that the Son is equal to the Father, as divine as the Father, being from His substance and of the same substance with Him; it follows necessarily that the Son cannot belong to the created . . . Because of the absolute unicity, unity, and simplicity of God, the identity of the substance is not merely specific [as in the case of humans having human nature in common] but absolute, or numerical.”
Where, though, in the Scriptures does one encounter such reasoning? The answer is simple: Nowhere. The written Word of God neither contains the word homoousios nor the idea that trinitarians attach to it. That is mere philosophizing.
Does the idea that Jesus Christ is “a god” conflict with the Scriptural teaching that there is only one God? (1 Cor. 8:5, 6) Not at all. At times the Hebrew Scriptures employ the term for God, ’elo·him′, with reference to mighty creatures. At Psalm 8:5, for example, we read: “You also proceeded to make him [man] a little less than godlike ones.” (Hebrew, ’elohim′; “a god,” New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible) The Greek Septuagint Version renders ’elo·him′ here as “angels.” The Jewish translators of this version saw no conflict with monotheism in applying the term for God to created spirit persons. (Compare Hebrews 2:7, 9.) Similarly, Jews of the first century C.E. found no conflict with their belief in one God at Psalm 82, though verses 1 and 6 of this psalm utilize the word ’elo·him′ (the·oi′, plural of the·os′, Septuagint) with reference to human judges.—Compare John 10:34-36.
Jesus Christ, according to the Scriptures, is “the image of the invisible God.” (Col. 1:15) Yet Christians with a heavenly calling expect to bear Christ’s image in its fullness, becoming partakers of “divine nature,” when they get to heaven. (2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21) They have already gotten a start toward this by the spiritual “new birth” while yet on earth. (1 Pet. 1:3, 4) This, however, does not mean that they will be coequal with God. Nor does Jesus’ then having “divine nature” with them mean that for him.
The translation “a god” at John 1:1 does no injustice to Greek grammar. Nor does it conflict with the worship of the One whom the resurrected Jesus Christ called “my God” and to whom Jesus himself is subject.—John 20:17 Rev. 3:2, 12; 1 Cor. 11:3; 15:28.
Its worth mentioning that the literal word "MONOTHEISTIC" literally mean "ONE GOD" which im sure you knew...However,this does not merely mean that a religion must have only One GOD to be correct.
The idea behind the Monotheistic religion is not only EXISTENCE of a GOD but the WORSHIP of GOD.
Isaiah 9:6 for example calls Jesus Christ "mighty God",yet later on at Matthew 4,Jesus directed that WORSHIP and EXCLUSIVE devotion must be given ONlY to Jehovah GOD...
True christians worship only Jehovah...christians follow Jesus christ but do NOT bow down to him..we do not worship him or view him as the creator or the sovereign of the universe...Only Jehovah is this one.
At Jesus baptism,Jehovah said to him and all those present at the time "This is my son,my beloved,the one i have approved"
Only Jehovah holds ultimate power and authority..
In the Bible only Jehovah is called "almighty" where as Jesus is called no more than "mighty".
From context of scriptures,from genesis right down to revelation,worship of Jehovah God is stresses over and over with no room to worship anyone else.
Maybe alittle illustration might help to clear it up.
In a family,only one father exists...not 2...it belongs to HIM ONLY to make the final decisions in a family...yet,his wife also has an opinion and she adds to how a household is managed and what needs to be bought,how much ,where etc...
The Husband humbly allows is wife to express her views..and at times when he sees its a good idea,allows the view to be put in to action..YET, it is ALWAYS the husbands,the families head final decision....he makes sure things are run well...all his children should view him as father and respect his final decisions.
likewise,Jehovah who is way more powerful than jesus...infact ,Jesus was also created,just like you and I,jehovah allows jesus to have a view point and to express his view.YET its the fathers decision that is final..and all must worship only Jehovah.
The whole theme of theme of the Bible is Monotheism.
With regard to other religions with hundreds,thousands or even millions of Gods such as Hinduism...Hindus generally believe all over them as equal but hold different capacities and qualities...
A TRUE christian believes in just one God,and that this God is ultimate and the one to be worshipped only.
By the way,i would be careful when you search secular dictionaries or encyclopedias,since some do not give the root meaning of various phrases or words and do not always make it clear.
also becareful,since some are biased or onesided..some publications are anti religion or anti christian..so it wouldnt be an accurate view if you read these.
The best place to find answers is always the Bible,since it is Gods word of truth...and not human philosophy or writing.
anyway,i will answer you again with your other question abit later..
i hope you have a nice day and speak to you soon
Carlos
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Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 11:59:09 -0700
From:
Subject: Is helper angel?
To:
Hello again Carlos..
Thanks Brother, also thank you very much for calling me for the first time 'Brother'..
I really appreciate that.
In my history recognition the Middle Ages was the hell human kind ever faced. In the Middle Ages the rich, high and noble got rich, richer, richest and the poor got poor, poorest. The chasm between very few noble people, including monks in Church and peasants etc. became so deep that no one couldn't restore.
It lasted 7 or 8 hundred years till Enlightenment when people started to awake the right of individuals.
In my understanding Contemporary world is much better than the Middle Ages in many aspects, not only as to fundamental human rights but in technological development, too.
War is inevitable in a society where there's a deep chasm in classes. War is a tragedy, but often a necessary evil.
I think current world became much safer after experiencing two world wars.
I'd like to just point out that the view 'the breakout of world war I is the beginning of the end of the system of things' is a unique interpretation of Revelations.
I am now reading many materials written by early Christian apologists.
While reading some, I encountered the Greek term 'paraclete' which appears in Greek Scriptures in John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:07.
In New world translation it is translated as 'helper'. In other versions, the Comforter, the Counselor, etc.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion. Only one God Jehovah, which is almighty. But there are many spiritual beings as well as Almighty God.
Michael, Gabriel are angels, which are super natural beings.
Jesus became King in Kingdom of Heaven right now. He became super natural being after resurrection.
I mean there are some divine figures in Christianity, is it in line with monotheistic view?
Eiko
--- On Sat, 5/22/10, Carlos Burman
From: Carlos Burman
Subject: RE: The end of the system of things
To: eritreaqqq@yahoo.com
Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010, 12:38 PM
Dear Hiroshi,
I just wanted to reply to an email you sent maybe 2 or 3 weeks ago but only now i have had a chance to look at properly.
Its in relation to "the end of the system of things","1914", "world war 1" ,"armageddon"...etc......
In the email ,as shown below in your original email to me,you said that armageddon is a spiritual war....the Bible,gods word..agrees with you that it is a spiritual warfare..notice the exerpt below and what it says in Revelation 16:14...It says there that it is a war of God...Jehovah God is a spirit so obviously it will be a spiritual warfare....please read the rest below:
Armageddon According to the Bible
Although many past wars fought near Megiddo proved decisive, none eliminated wickedness. None really pitted the forces of good against the forces of evil, in the absolute sense. Logically, that type of conflict must originate with God. As Jesus once said, “nobody is good, except one, God.” (Luke 18:19) Furthermore, the Bible specifically refers to Armageddon as God’s war.
In the Bible, the book of Revelation says that “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” will be gathered together “to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14) The prophetic account then adds: “And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon,” or Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16) Later on, Revelation explains that “the kings of the earth and their armies” will be “gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army.” (Revelation 19:19) This horseman is identified as none other than Jesus Christ.—1 Timothy 6:14, 15; Revelation 19:11, 12, 16.
What are we to conclude from these verses? That Armageddon is a war between God and the forces of disobedient mankind. Why would Jehovah and his Son, Jesus Christ, fight such a war? For one thing, Armageddon will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) In addition, it will usher in a peaceful world, “a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise,” where “righteousness is to dwell.”—2 Peter 3:13.
However,if you notice paragraph 3 of the excerpt above,it mentions Revelation 11:18(please read)...it says there that this war will bring to ruin those ruining the earth...many of which are flesh and blood like you and i...many humans in history have been very bad ...these these ones surely will be affected by this spiritual war in Heaven...
This war will affect all humans and we will see the effects of war...abit like a tsunami....the earthquake often isnt seen and many times it doesnt affect the population..yet we know an earthquake happened because of the effects of the tsunami.
So,yes while armageddon is a spiritual war, a war of jehovah god against his enemies, this effects of this war WILL be seen by all...it will effect every single human on the planet.
You also mentioned about that world war 1 which started in 1914 has nothing todo with armageddon.....well,according to Bible understanding,that is an incorrect statement...october 1914 was the very year that Jesus christ became king in heaven...Jesus as King in 1914 threw satan and all his demons out from the vicinity of heaven to the vicinity of earth.Look below at what happened in 1914...in verse 4 it says that the "woman who was about to give birth,that,when she did give birth,it might devour her child."..in 1914 jehovahs King,Jesus Christ ,did give birth...1914 was the year jesus became king in heaven...as soon as he became king,he threw satan put of heaven...this resulted in satan and his cohorts being very angry,thus in 1914,to distract jesus christs birth as king as many religions back then would come in that year,he made a giant world war,something that had never taken place previously.notice revelation 12:4-17 below.
; 4 and its tail drags a third of the stars of heaven, and it hurled them down to the earth. And the dragon kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth, that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child. 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi′cha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” 13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.
The paragraphs below show us that jehovahs witnesses Long before 1914 were warning of 1914...they said in that year significant changes took place...and from history,we all know they were very big changes to the universe..
Vindicated on the Issue
4 So, first of all, we will ask: Who were the ones that, many years beforehand, pointed out to the whole world that “the times of the Gentiles” would end in the latter half of 1914? It was the International Bible Students, using the columns of the Watch Tower magazine and other publications of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Today they are known worldwide as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Have world events vindicated them? Yes!
5 Since most of mankind today pay no attention to that calculation of God’s time, and since Christendom with its hundreds of sects and denominations dispute its correctness, have those opposers who far outnumber Jehovah’s Witnesses won the hot dispute concerning the setting up of God’s Kingdom by Christ in the heavens in 1914 C.E.? The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning what would mark “the end of the world” (AV), or “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW), thunders back to us the answer No! Sixty-eight years after 1914 we see in existence the state of affairs foretold by Jesus in Luke 21:25-27, in the following words: “There will be . . . on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Properly, then, the ending of the Gentile Times in the latter half of 1914 still stands on a historical basis as one of the fundamental Kingdom truths to which we must hold today.
“The Time of the End” Confirmed
8 World events from 1914 onward confirm that the above understanding based on Bible chronology is correct. Jesus himself said that “the conclusion of the system of things” would be marked by wars, famines, and pestilences. (Matthew 24:3-8; Revelation 6:2-8) That has certainly been the case since 1914. The apostle Paul added to the picture, saying that there would be a marked difference in the attitudes of people toward one another. His description of the changes that we have all witnessed was right on target.—2 Timothy 3:1-5.
9 Has “the scene of this world” really changed so much since 1914? In the book The Generation of 1914, Professor Robert Wohl observes: “Those who lived through the war could never rid themselves of the belief that one world had ended and another begun in August 1914.” Confirming this, Dr. Jorge A. Costa e Silva, as the mental-health director for the World Health Organization, wrote: “We live in a time of extremely fast changes, which end up causing anxiety and stress at levels never before seen in mankind’s history.” Has that been your personal experience?
10 Who is the villain behind the worsening world conditions? Revelation 12:7-9 unmasks the culprit: “War broke out in heaven: Michael [Jesus Christ] and his angels battled with the dragon [Satan the Devil], and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, . . . who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” So Satan the Devil is the guilty troublemaker, and his ouster from heaven in 1914 has meant “woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—Revelation 12:10, 12.
To be honest, there are hundreds of pages i could send you that show that 1914 was the start of the Pangs of Distress mentioned in the bible...both secular evidence and scriptural evidence agrees with this conclusion and jehovahs witnesses know without a doubt that from 1914..we HAVE been living in the LAST DAYS of this present system and that very soon now,Jehovah god by means of his son Jesus Christ acting as King in heaven will act to bring an end to all wickedness and lawlessness both in heaven and earth.
Brother Hiroshi regardless of what newspaper tabloids says or or seemingly clever,intelligent and wise people speculate,jehovahs witnesses are 100percent confident in the end of this system which will take place.
As always,please look through this information carefully and if you would like more and can keep sending more..i just dont want to drown you with too much information in an email.
and by the way,i will answer your other questions about baptism soon in another email..
until then take care
Carlos
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