Old Testament Christophany?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.
Nov 19, 2012
5,484
27
0
#81
guys... don't argue over words. get to the meat of it, not this superficial bickering. I want to hear more!
Semantics is THE driving force between the faiths, brother...it is of utmost importance...lest you fall prey to a cult.
 
L

LT

Guest
#82
Semantics is THE driving force between the faiths, brother...it is of utmost importance...lest you fall prey to a cult.
NO! The Holy Spirit is the driving force of faith. Lacking the Spirit, while continuing in religion, is what causes cults.
Semantics are a distraction from learning. If we pin our theology on a specific translation of an adjective, then we miss the big picture.
We all fail at translating. We all fail at understanding.
No one fully understands (not even close) the true plan of God. (anyone who thinks he has it figured out is more lost than the man who knows he's lost)

Learning/studying the Bible is important, but doing what the Word says cannot be disregarded while we are learning.
We should be prayerfully meditating on the Word, far more than we are taking it apart in a lexicon.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
L

LT

Guest
#83
I forgot to add: semantics is the driving force of cults, not believers.
 
Nov 19, 2012
5,484
27
0
#84
You are utterly clueless...

NO! The Holy Spirit is the driving force of faith. Lacking the Spirit, while continuing in religion, is what causes cults.
Semantics are a distraction from learning. If we pin our theology on a specific translation of an adjective, then we miss the big picture.
We all fail at translating. We all fail at understanding.
No one fully understands (not even close) the true plan of God. (anyone who thinks he has it figured out is more lost than the man who knows he's lost)

Learning/studying the Bible is important, but doing what the Word says cannot be disregarded while we are learning.
We should be prayerfully meditating on the Word, far more than we are taking it apart in a lexicon.
Lexicons are the tool used in translation in the first place, brother...
 
L

LT

Guest
#85
then what tool are you using to decide that "Angel of the Lord" should be translated as "messenger of the Lord"? We all use many tools, such as lexicons, to study the Word of God.

Now you are showing yourself as here for only argument! I made a clear statement, and you divert attention away from the point being made. What I had said contradicts and destroyed your point, yet you ignore that to bring up what?
 
Nov 19, 2012
5,484
27
0
#86
then what tool are you using to decide that "Angel of the Lord" should be translated as "messenger of the Lord"? We all use many tools, such as lexicons, to study the Word of God.
Scripture.

The same OT scripture that both Jews and Christians study...with two completely different outcomes...

Perhaps now you can understand how semantics is so important...
 
L

LT

Guest
#87
No, I see how important the Holy Spirit is... reread my post. there is no room for what you are saying.
 

john832

Senior Member
May 31, 2013
11,389
193
63
#88
Re: You are utterly clueless...

Lexicons are the tool used in translation in the first place, brother...
Ya think? Then also there is usually more than one meaning for Hebrew and Greek words just like English words, we call them homonyms. Tear (what you cry) and tear (a hole in your jeans). It is then up to the translators how they interpret it. Rarely but on occaision, they do not do the translation justice. That is when this comes into play...

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
 
L

LT

Guest
#89
Bowman took this thread very far off-topic like 2 pages ago. Let's see if we can get it back to Theophanies/Christophanies, which is where we left off.


oldhermit, I am under the assumption that the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost were another visual manifestation of the 3rd person in the Trinity. I can see that you disagree. How do you view this passage?
 

oldhermit

Senior Member
Jul 28, 2012
9,145
617
113
70
Alabama
#90
Bowman took this thread very far off-topic like 2 pages ago. Let's see if we can get it back to Theophanies/Christophanies, which is where we left off.


oldhermit, I am under the assumption that the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost were another visual manifestation of the 3rd person in the Trinity. I can see that you disagree. How do you view this passage?
I would not deny the possibility. The tongues certainly represent the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why would you assume that I disagree with this?
 
Nov 19, 2012
5,484
27
0
#91
Re: You are utterly clueless...

Ya think? Then also there is usually more than one meaning for Hebrew and Greek words just like English words, we call them homonyms. Tear (what you cry) and tear (a hole in your jeans). It is then up to the translators how they interpret it. Rarely but on occaision, they do not do the translation justice. That is when this comes into play...

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Who told you that there could be more than one meaning?

That's right...the lexicons...full circle semantics...
 
L

LT

Guest
#92
I would not deny the possibility. The tongues certainly represent the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why would you assume that I disagree with this?
If you agree, then I misread a previous post. I am glad, as this makes other things clearer to me.
 
L

LT

Guest
#93
Re: You are utterly clueless...

what about the star of Bethlehem? It is recorded to have moved in the sky over the place where Jesus was. Could this also be a visual representation/manifestation of the Holy Spirit guiding the wise men?
 

oldhermit

Senior Member
Jul 28, 2012
9,145
617
113
70
Alabama
#94
Re: You are utterly clueless...

what about the star of Bethlehem? It is recorded to have moved in the sky over the place where Jesus was. Could this also be a visual representation/manifestation of the Holy Spirit guiding the wise men?
We simply do not know what this was. Scripture does not give any real information of this. We do not even know whether it was a supernatural phenomenon or a natural phenomenon prepared by God.
 
L

LT

Guest
#95
I suppose what I'm trying to understand is: could the Holy Spirit account for the manifestations of God in the Bible that are not ...well ... human-shaped.
 
L

LT

Guest
#96
Re: You are utterly clueless...

also, I want to apologize to Bowman. I was rude. Sorry bro
 

oldhermit

Senior Member
Jul 28, 2012
9,145
617
113
70
Alabama
#97
I suppose what I'm trying to understand is: could the Holy Spirit account for the manifestations of God in the Bible that are not ...well ... human-shaped.
If you remember what I said about the specific functions that scripture seems to attribute to each member of the Triadic Unity, the purpose of a theophany was to communicate the will of God, to the mind of man. Thus his designation of the Word of God." This is always the function of the Second Position. The Holy Spirit is always seen as the linking agent. One of the elements of this function is organization. This is what the Holy Spirit is doing in Acts 2. He is organizing what the Son has brought into existence - the Church.
 
W

weakness

Guest
#98

Heb 7:2.....For this Melchizedek ....to whom Abraham gave a tenth part of all ; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that King of Salem, which is king of Peace without father or mother, without decent having neither beginning of days or end of life, but made like unto the son of God, abideth a priest continually.Heb 3:14 for we are made partakers of Christ......While it is said ,today if you hear his voice harden not your heat as in the day of provocation ,,5:6 as he sayeth in another place thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplication and strong crying and tears,,,(8)though he were a son.(11) Of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing For when for the time ye ought to be teachers ye need that one teach you again. 1 Cor 10 :4 And did all drink that same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them; and that rock was Christ.​ But with many of them God was not well pleased> for they were over thrown in the wilderness.
 
L

LT

Guest
#99
^from my understanding: this means that their faith in the coming Christ is what saved them. Not Abraham's faith in Melchizedek, but in God's promise to send Christ in the future.
His offering was a symbol of his faith in God. No sacrifice ever actually covered the sin, only symbolized faith in the One who was to come(who has already come to us as Jesus Christ) and His sacrifice covered all the sin of the faithful.

in other words: I don't think Melchizedek can be considered a Christophany, only a symbolic representation(a living prophecy).
 
L

LT

Guest
i should rephrase a bit: sacrifices did "cover the sin" but only because God was going to send the Messiah to finish the work of redemption.