a) In the table of Nations (gen 10) Magog is a son of Japheth, the son of Noah. The only thing i see here of note is that as a nation, Magog like most of his other brothers don't have much said about their descendants, leading to at least imply that they carved out a pretty big piece of land for themselves Gen 10:5 "By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations". The sons of Japheth, while generally thought to have been the "European" placed descendants, in fact spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans according to the reasoning of many scholars.
b) The same is for 1 Chron. 1:5 as Magog is present in the genealogy. This Genealogy in 1 Chron. however has an interesting discrepancy elsewhere regarding Kainan the son of Arphaxad. Kainan shows up in the genealogy of Christ in the Gospel of Luke, which is the genealogy of Christ from Adam to Mary, but is omitted from the genealogies in both Genesis and 1 Chronicles. The only connection that has been established to my knowledge is that Kainan screwed up big time!
Jubilees 8
“1 In the twenty-ninth jubilee, in the first week, [1373 A.M.] in the beginning thereof Arpachshad took to himself a wife and her name was Rasu'eja, the daughter of Susan, the daughter of Elam, and she 2 bare him a son in the third year in this week, [1375 A.M.] and he called his name Kainam. And the son grew, and his father taught him writing, and he went to seek for himself a place where he might seize for 3 himself a city. And he found a writing which former (generations) had carved on the rock, and he read what was thereon, and he transcribed it and sinned owing to it; for it contained the teaching of the Watchers in accordance with which they used to observe the omens of the sun and moon and 4 stars in all the signs of heaven. And he wrote it down and said nothing regarding it; for he was 5 afraid to speak to Noah about it lest he should be angry with him on account of it.”
I bring this up because there might be some underlying code under the OT text as is prevalent elsewhere in the Tanach regarding Magog and God if anyone would like to pursue such an investigation.
c)The first mention of Gog is in 1 Chron 5:4 referenced as the father of Shimei and the son of Shemia who was the son of Joel. Interestingly enough, chapter 5 has left the descendants of the Judaic line and gone to Israel’s firstborn Reuben. But the text between vs 3 and 4 I cant make the actual connection…
“3 The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
4 The sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,”
Perhaps if someone would like to help me dig a little deeper, maybe Yehovah will bless us with understanding. Perhaps this Gog has nothing to do with the Gog related to Magog.. Perhaps he does. I do know that many Scholars have puzzled over this for hundreds of years! But this might be a relevant case for the “rule of biblical first mention” in regards to identifying who Gog is.
d) Ezekiel’s Magog and Gog. This is where it all really starts to run off in 1000 tandems for many. I am NOT making any claims here just listing the “evidence” unless otherwise EXPLICITLY stated! This is one of those instances I believe that many advisors will bring the victory so if you have any insight, please chime in:
So Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39… well we’ve all read it. But if you take a step back from the text and the preconceived ideas we bring, we can realize that, without ANY doubt, that chapter 37, comes BEFORE chapter 38… common sense I know. But most “Teachers” who are making these speculations and have for decades, I’ve never heard them go through the text SEQUENTIALLY! Chuck Missler often joked that most Christians were surprised, even SHOCKED that there were more Chapters in Ezekiel other than 38 and 39. Rapturitis has infected many brethren unfortunately. But I digress…
Chapter 37 of Ezekiel: the valley of the dry bones: A GREAT prophecy given to a prophet who was exiled along with his countrymen for their sin and the sins of their forefathers. Yahovah is promising Ezekiel RESTORATION of the nation. Something people in this group are familiar with unlike those who follow dispensational theology. The grafting of the stick of Ephraim and Judah. And in vs 21 it states “21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:”
Question… has this propchecy been fulfilled? Some speculate yes, some speculate no, some are saying that it is in the process of being fulfilled and some just don’t know.
Vs 22 does give us a little clarity… “22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” Here we see an obvious reference to the coming Messiah, that the prophecy is fulfilled in such a way. But again… it could be a “process” as the valley of the dry bones story happens in sequential steps. Bones rise up, tendons, sinew, etc… In fact the dry bones story might also be a type in reference to the resurrection of the believers as well.
Before we get to Ezekiel 38 and 39 however, it is PARAMOUNT to understand that the theology that was brought forward after the events of 1945-1949 have directly influenced the understanding of the events regarding magog. Most americans and westerners were under the impression that Israel had returned to the land and all was golden. A huge chunk of Israel did in fact return to the land but the prophecy is not yet fulfilled according to vs 22 onward.
Now regarding chapters 38 and 39… I know what a lot of people think.. I was one of them. However, I am learning that the more I learn, the less I know.
Ezekiel 38 is followed by the last verses of chapter 37 which are:
“24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
Now, I believe, that this is a reference to the millennial Kingdom established on the earth after the return of Christ. I am welcome to hear other possibilities but personally I have found none.
And, if that is the case, then the events regarding ch 38 PROBABLY happen toward the end of the millennial kingdom as stated in revelation regarding satan being let loose for a time to attempt to deceive the nations… as the most obvious reason for this particular event is to give the final test of the hearts of the believers before the new earth and new heavens and new Jerusalem come. However, since prophecy, to the Hebrew mind, is pattern and not prediction and fulfillment, these events might actually be the close that brings forth the millennial reign. Time will tell.
e) in the prophecy of Ch. 38 vs2 it’s important to note that Gog, is the person, not Magog. This is also clarified at the end of the verse and also later in the prophecy.
“2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,” HIM – one person referenced.
f) vs 4 has a very interesting factoid. God says that he will put “hooks in his mouth” . So it is God that is causing him to go to this battle. So certainly an external force,but how that looks to the world? I don’t know…
g) From reading the prophecy, we see the alliances that he has as well. Gog is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Meshech and Tubal are kin of Magog, sons of Japheth, who along with Tiras have no further descendants listed in the table of nations of Genesis 10.
vs 5-6 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are NOT listed in the table of nations but I do believe in older translations more to the original text, the names used are from the table of nations references. In VS 6 “6 Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.” Gomer IS in fact listed in the table of nations as the first listed son of JAPETH! And Togarmah is the son of Gomer as are Ashkenaz, and Riphath.
I think it’s interesting that the only sons of Japheth and his descendants not referenced by name yet are Javan and Tiras.
h) vs7 Gog is referenced as a protector of these peoples, “a guard”
i) vs. 8 another thing I found interestings… Gog is “visited” There is a lot of info here so I’d like to break it down: however, for true precision the original texts will have to be used. (I’ve stumbled using the English similarly with Ezekiel chapter 1 which halted my studies)
in the latter years
thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people,
against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste:
but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
This DOES seem like a reference to a rebuilt Israel after it’s distruction in 70-13? AD but the key is the final part… “and they dwell SAFELY, all of them” (again in vs 14 ) so he IS moving on Israel… (vs 18)
j) vs 13 is also of note. “13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?”
it does look here they are saying “seriously? You are going to war?” almost out of disgust… and those mentioned are sheba and Dedan, descendants of cush through Seba and Tarshish, descendants of Javan.
k) ch 39 vs 2… interesting factoid. 1/6 is left of Gog’s army. 1/6 = 16.6666 %
l) also we have an explicit mention that he comes from the NORTH
m) vs 3 another factoid some scholars have made a connection that the arrows mentioned can be stated as some sort of “smart weapons”, Jeremiah 50:9 being the reference.
n)vs 6 God sends a fire onto Magog, referenced so far as the land, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles.
o) after the thwarting of the invasion, vs.9 forward, the weapons are used for fuel… and then go plunder those that tried to plunder them.
p) the chapter continues with the buriel of the bodies and specifically vs 18 reads a bit like Revelations at the death of the whore of Babylon… just as a note.
q) Mind you all of this is done so that the WORLD will know that YAHOVAH is GOD.. I believe 54 mentiones in the bookof Ezekiel alone. But vs 23 adds that also the heathen know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity… there’s more… a lot more in fact, which again makes me wonder if this prophecy is also a type.
“22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28 Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.”
Whew… So this is Ezekiel done… let’s move on!
r) Of course, the final mention is Revelation 20:8 “And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea”
s) now THIS reference, regardless of which eschatological approach you take to the book of revelations, DOES happen AFTER the return of Christ, the first resurrection of the dead (the righteous), and the establishment of the millennial kingdom. (Christ returns in Chapter 19)
t) again taking a step back, vs 7 comes before vs 8. “7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”
u) in fact the remainder of the prophecy lines up quite nicely with Ezekiel: “9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
So that’s all folks. Hope this study guide helps you guys. Am happy to discuss it further with anyone privately or in the group.
In 2011, I started reading my bible diligently again.
In all honesty, it wasn't for any particular “spiritual” reason. I was following up a piece of information while I was researching Nikola Tesla and all the myths surrounding the man. More specifically, I was reading Nikola Tesla's autobiography titled “My Inventions”.
In Chapter 5, Tesla states that he was concentrating on forming some big new idea when his thoughts went back to his mother: “ My Mother had taught me to seek all truth in the Bible; therefore I devoted the next few months to the study of this work....At this time I made a further careful study of the Bible, and discovered the key in Revelation.”
Now for those that don't know, everything in our modern technical and informational age, can trace its origin directly to Nikola Tesla's many discoveries and inventions. At the time, I was an avid researcher in alternative energies, and seeing this particular quote from Tesla really puzzled me! After all, I had also read the book of Revelation a few times myself! And I never saw any form of technology-based script in the book. What had I missed?
And it was by asking the right questions that God blessed me with an important piece of understanding.
At the time, I was also using multiple translations of the English bible for in depth study and if there was reason to go deeper, I would then go to the ancient Greek translations for clarification and understanding. So while I was reading the third chapter in the book of Revelation in different bibles, I realized a particular discrepancy; that where “seven spirits” was written, there was also a reference to a “SEVEN-FOLD SPIRIT”. Hmm... One spirit with seven different folds, even seven different perspectives to understand.
I found this understanding quite fascinating at the time. ( side note: I will be going into biblical numerology at a later time so as not to deviate from my point). And while the actual definition of seven-fold is to increase seven times, it's not really how I understood it at the time. No, what I got from this little translational discrepancy was that there was more than one way to understand something in the bible.
When you think about it in terms of an elementary baseline, it's not so far fetched. For example, other than being a book that teaches a person about Jesus and salvation, the Bible is also a history book, a book of songs and wisdom, a prophetic book, etc. So perhaps a man like Tesla, who stated that he sought ALL TRUTH in the Bible, was on to something! Remember that this is a man who had the ability to build motors in his mind, run them for months, and then take them apart, again, in his head, to see where the bearings were failing.
And sure enough, whatever it was that Tesla was researching at the time, he found his answer in the book of Revelation. He doesn't state exactly what he was looking for or what exactly he discovered and much has been said about it between people in the past that have looked into the subject. Feel free to share your own ideas in the comment section of this article. But I digress...
With this important piece of understanding, I wondered if I could understand the Bible from different perspectives and with this new found happiness I plunged right back into Genesis 1 and started reading from the beginning paying attention to the most minute details and even to this day I am marveled at the depth of God's word.
After all, one of my favorite scriptures, Proverbs 25:2 states “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.”
So it was during a conversation that I had last night with a dear friend of Italian decent, who is a marvelous engineer, that I had a bit of an epiphany.
He was going off on the marvelousness of metal and it's different capabilities in producing different sounds based on it's elasticity. Mind you, his explanation lasted for quite a few minutes while his eyes gleamed at the prospect of what could be done with metal when he turned to me and said in his flamboyant English with an Italian accent, “George, you have to understand that metal is truly a gift from God!”
This statement, then triggered in my mind an astonishing thought; “What if he is right?”. Can it be understated the quality of life we have today regarding what metal does for us? To creating electricity, bring it to our homes, building transportation and shelter and providing us with food and water, our fundamental needs as a civilization are all possible do to this apparent gift. And what's more, we aren't going backwards to log cabins and horse and buggies any time soon. Yes, I believe that I can at least agree with the fact that our quality of life is better because of metal.
That's when it hit me.
Adam's Curse
The story of Adam and Eve is pretty well know but in a nutshell, God created Adam and then Eve from his rib. They lived in paradise called Eden with God, who gave them complete access to the grounds cautioning them only not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All was well, until the serpent deceived Eve into disobeying God and eating the fruit from said tree. She then thought it would be a good idea to give Adam some of the fruit too, and when he had some as well, they scurried to sow fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. Then when God eventually goes for a stroll in the garden during the cool of the day, He called out to Adam and Eve who were hiding from God because of said nakedness. After explanations were stated, God proceeds to curse the serpent, the Eve, and finally Adam.
Genesis 3: 17-19, 23
“17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return...
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.”
Most people, myself included, read vs. 23 and imagine Adam holding a hoe or some pick axe digging holes in the ground to plant seeds or some such, and I am sure that this is quite accurate. However, if you are willing to use a different perspective, food and water is not the only thing that is present in the ground. Metals and other minerals are there too. What if, then, Adam's curse wasn't simply to till the ground to sustain himself, his wife and his children for food, but also to provide the raw materials needed to build for themselves, homes, tools, and other forms of technology that were actually already present in Eden and that Eden wasn't just a garden?
We have very limited abilities to understand things outside of our dimension, but just for argument sake, let's imagine that Eden was in fact constructed! Genesis 1:1 CLEARLY states that “In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth”. And in this monumental feat that only God could do, is it impossible to imagine that some of the things that were created by God were, in fact, made using different metals?
Ask any engineer that believes in God, my Italian friend included, and they will readily and willing admit that God is THE MASTER ENGINEER. My Italian friend actually attempted to show me this is true by explaining the intricate details in the design of a common house fly's wings that allow it to constantly adjust for pitch and roll while the wings flap, something that we as a species are nowhere near replicating! Bats and dolphins using sonar to travel is another one. The wonders of God's creations are truly endless and to be marveled at!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_44G-kE8lE
So let's not be short-sighted here. What if, along with the Garden of Eden, there were also fantastic structures as well? Jesus himself said that there were many rooms in his Father's house. Most of us tend to lean to the interpretation that this is an allegory but humor me for a minute and let's say it is in fact quite literal. Nikola Tesla read the book of Revelation and understood some sort of science from it. Again it's all about perspective.
To further give precedent to this argument, the Book of Enoch gives us a little more depth:
Enoch VIII : “1. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals 〈of the earth〉and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. ” … Enoch IX: “And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. 2. And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High.".' 4. And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, 〈and God of the ages〉, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! 5. Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. 6. Thou seest what Azâzêl hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn”
So the fallen Angel, Azazel, revealed to men the different qualities of the metals of the earth and how to work them, but it also states that the men of the earth were already “striving to learn” . The problem was what he was actually teaching the men of the earth to do with that technology: weapons to wage war, and ornaments and beautification techniques that ended up that ended up causing much godlessness and fornication.
But God's plan was different it seems. Remember that Adam being cast out of Eden was not punishment, but mercy. And he and his offspring were supposed to repent. So while they were “tilling the ground” they were also “striving to learn”. I like to think that they were striving to learn whatever it was God wanted them to learn and that a part of this learning experience could be fantastic forms of technology that we still haven't touched upon today.
And that is my perspective on this issue.
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Perhaps you are imagining some magical conjuring of God’s spirit to a person’s life, or some amazing event, or…. Well, you probably can’t put your finger on it. Neither could I.
]]>Part 1 In the beginning…
Before you read this, take a minute and ask yourself, “What does the word “BLESS” mean?”
Perhaps you are imagining some magical conjuring of God’s spirit to a person’s life, or some amazing event, or…. Well, you probably can’t put your finger on it. Neither could I.
In our modern vernacular, we often throw the word “bless” around a lot; from our grandparents giving us their “blessings” for completing a remedial task for them, or, throwing out “God bless you” every time somebody sneezes! But, none of the examples really helps us define what God intended for the word bless to mean as it was used in the actual word of God.
Solving this back in 2011, after I had picked up my bible for the first time in years following a series of personal events which I will write about elsewhere, was perhaps the key in my rejuvenated love for God’s Word. Where God showed me that I clearly had insufficient understanding of His Word even with such a matter that most people would label as remedial, it, in fact, lit a fire in my heart to pursue understanding of the scriptures. Imagine being a “faithful Christian” for 20+ years, asking God for his blessings day after day, and not actually knowing what I was truly asking for! When I prayed for His blessings I imagined in my heart that the most supernatural of events would manifest against my enemies so that we could all witness who truly was doing God’s work, but today, I realize that this was just folly of youth and a desire to stroke my own ego. “I was right, you are all wrong, therefore, listen to me”.
The truth is, I had a pretty decent grasp on the bible regarding the “Christianese” understanding of scripture, but the real revelation was that most of my understanding at the time came from what either I had heard, or what I was told, or what I was taught… My understanding did not come directly from the Bible especially since that was always my aim.
So, I decided that it would be best to start reading the Bible from the actual beginning in order to see what I’d missed, in order to let God speak to me personally (so to speak).
Genesis 1:1 “In the Beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” If you believe this than carry on, but, if you don’t, realize at least that you are choosing to believe what you’ve been told rather than the actual word of God. But I digress…
After over 9 years of keeping my bible shelved where I was still trying to seek the ultimate truth, a series of events and understandings all pointed directly back to the bible from multiple sources. Picking up my bible again with the enthusiasm of a giddy child, I delved into the word of God with a vigor that dwarfed the excitement of owning my first car it as a teenager! That first chapter, our creation story jumped from the page into my imagination creating the most amazing visuals in my mind’s eye as I imagined witnessing the glory of God creating our reality. I would eventually spend over a year studying the book of genesis and at least a quarter of that time was spent just in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
But in reading, my paranoid mindset alarm was tripped when I got to the 5th day of creation.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
God blessed them?
Now I was coming into the Bible with the mentality of not taking anything I read for granted. If you read my post (HERE) about Nikola Tesla and perspective, the momentum I was carrying while undertaking to reread my bible with a clear mindset already set in. I read this and I asked myself, “What does it mean that God “blessed” them”? Most people would just read over that and carry on. And, I now believe that this, the inability of Christians to really comprehend God’s word and its precision is a genius strategic move in the great deception of the enemy. But let’s continue onto the sixth day;
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26 And 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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
There it is again…
I will be doing a very in depth analysis about the creation story in the future, but, something to notice here is that after He blessed “the blessees”, he gave them specific instructions on what they must do.
In fact, the word bless appears just one more time in the creation story:
Genesis 2: 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
These are the three distinct blessings in the creation story. And since the creation of the world is probably important to God, I believe it’s safe to assume that the prudent student should really try to “milk” all the understanding out of it.
Part 2 So what DOES the word bless mean? – Study Guidelines
To answer our original question, we must first lay a proper foundation for actually studying the bible.
There are a few ways to gain understanding in the Bible. One way is in the context that a word, or phrase, is being used. And, while this method is generally used in all forms of literature, the bible differs in regards to the principal of first mention. To define it, gotquestions.org gives us a great definition:
The law (or principle or rule) of first mention is a guideline that some people use for studying Scripture. The law of first mention says that, to understand a particular word or doctrine, we must find the first place in Scripture that word or doctrine is revealed and study that passage. The reasoning is that the Bible’s first mention of a concept is the simplest and clearest presentation; doctrines are then more fully developed on that foundation. So, to fully understand an important and complex theological concept, Bible students are advised to start with its “first mention….
Genesis, the book of beginnings, naturally contains many “first mentions,” including the foundations of these doctrines and concepts: divine omnipotence, creation, paradise, marriage, family, sin, sacrifice, atonement, angels, prayer, judgment, covenant, government, death, burial, etc. When asked about marriage, Jesus pointed to two “first mention” passages: “Haven’t you read . . . that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4–5; cf. Genesis 1:27; 2:24).” (https://www.gotquestions.org/law-of-first-mention.html )
In our case however, while the word bless does appear first in Genesis 1, it still doesn’t help us clearly define what it means. So the prudent student of scripture then goes to the next tool in the toolbox, which is referring to the original text.
For those that don’t know, the original Old Testament was mostly written in Hebrew and the New Testament mostly in Greek (there is debate amongst scholars that the original Gospel of Matthew was written in Hebrew). But God, in his infinite wisdom “locked in” the texts through translation. So the original Old Testament, or at least the first 5 books of the Old Testament known as the Torah, the Pentateuch, or the books of Moses, were converted by Jewish scholars into Greek in the third century BC. Scholars will debate when the entirety of the Old Testament was converted to Greek but for our case, since we are just working out of Genesis this will suffice. Once the texts were “locked in” so to speak, then it is nearly impossible to fiddle with the texts. On a side note, the New Testament, and the Bible in its entirety is then locked in less than 1000 years later with the invention of the printing press.
So while I was doing my own study on the word bless, I naturally first went to the original Hebrew word which is “barak”. Using the blue letter bible ( a true Godsend for the serious Bible student) we learn that (https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1288/kjv/wlc/0-1/ ) :
בָּרַךְ bârak, baw-rak'; a primitive root; to kneel; by implication to bless God (as an act of adoration), and (vice-versa) man (as a benefit); also (by euphemism) to curse (God or the king, as treason):—× abundantly, × altogether, × at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, × greatly, × indeed, kneel (down), praise, salute, × still, thank.
And amazingly enough, to someone like me who isn’t Hebrew, the Jewish understanding doesn’t really help me define what the word means. But a mind that seeks wisdom and God’s understanding should praise God in such an instance because we know from His Word that he DOES in fact want to be understood and close to His creation (John 17:3, Jer. 9:24, Phil 3:10 etc.)! It’s just going to take some more work to do it.
So, I am of Greek ethnicity, the Greek language being my second language personally. And as a police officer that has prepared many case files for court where the every detail of the written content is of paramount importance, the precision of language and its use was ingrained into me. And here I believe lies an interesting contrast regarding the Greek and Hebrew languages. The Hebrew is really up for deep, almost philosophical understanding because the actual letters have such a deep meaning and combining them together can present many different understandings. I mean just look at how many things the word barak can mean. I mean, if I was Jewish myself I might be able to understand a more precise meaning for the context we are studying but even after asking a few people who are Jewish or speak Hebrew, I really couldn’t get a clear picture.
But the Greek language is a much more rigid and precise language with really little to no room for interpretation especially when it comes to context. What’s more is that all Greek is used in the everyday vernacular so the meanings are never lost to a fluent Greek speaker. Greek, as a language that is used, brings a much simpler yet deeper understanding of the meaning of words to the regular Joe rather than the scholar who will try to trace words back to the earliest known uses in written documents and I’m sure the same can be said about the Hebrew language as well. So, in reality, the Greek language is much older than Homer and Socrates. Just look how the BLB tries to interpret a 2 letter word:
Excerpt from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2095/kjv/tr/0-1/ “εὖ, adverb, (properly, εΰ, the unused neuter of the adjective ἐΰς in Homer), well: εὖ πράσσω, not as many interpreters take it, contrary to ordinary Greek usage; yet cf. Schmidt, vol. iv. p. 398, to do well i. e. act rightly (which in Greek is expressed by ὀρθῶς or καλῶς πράσσω), but to be well off, fare well, prosper, Acts 15:29 [R. V. it shall be well with you] (Xenophon, mem. 1, 6, 8; 2, 4, 6; 4, 2, 26; oec. 11, 8; Josephus, Antiquities 12, 4,” . Lol, even the “interpreters” can’t agree.
And as a side note, the prudent student of scriptures should always take biblical teachings from others with a large grain of salt, particularly Western scholars. If a particular language is not your first language, and you aren’t using that language in your society, you will always have shortcomings in comprehension. This is reality.
So, in this instance, the Greek word for bless is the compound word ev-logisen – ευλόγησεν, the verb format for the word ev-logia. And feel free to look at the complicated interpretation of the BLB https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2127/kjv/tr/0-1/. But even if you don’t know Greek at all, you might recognize the root word, LOGOS.
Ev: really means to bestow upon… to give.
Logisen: from the root logos. This should be familiar to us all; The Word. But it’s essence is logic, reason, and understanding. The plural form of the word logos is LOGIA which actually means spoken words. Ev-logia is the noun format of the word bless.
In fact, check blue letter bible’s interpretation of the word evlogia in regards to it being “of God”
Part 3 Putting it altogether
So, let’s try to put this all together to see if we can make some sense of this:
Starting again from Genesis 1,
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Can we not say then that God, “blessed them”, i.e., giving them understanding (of His Word, His plan), and gave His creation specific instructions in order to make His creation prosper? Think about it another way. Of all the living things that God created on the earth, the animals, the creepy crawlies, the fish, the birds etc., till THIS day continue to carry out Gods directions given to them at the creation of the earth! I wonder why we humans think that doing it our way is better than following God’s instructions…
So, I DO think that this is the BEST definition of the word bless, specifically when it comes to a person being BLESSED BY GOD! So when we ask for God’s blessings in our prayers, what we are really asking, perhaps guided by the Holy Spirit, is the ability to understand the REASON why all the events happening around us on a macro or micro scale and HOW it pertains to God’s plan, which is all foretold in His Word, The Logos! Amen!
Now this doesn’t mean that a blessing can’t be some sort of “supernatural” event, whether it be a miraculous healing or some other amazing event, but keep in mind that even Jesus’ miracles were never about anything more than to move forward God’s plan. We, as society, have come to allow the suppression of the understanding of God’s word to such an extent that Christians and even other people seeking spiritual enlightenment are so quick to identify ANYTHING supernatural with either God, or positivity in general. But, this is very unfortunate, even dangerous, because if we don’t test the spirit in which a miracle comes from, we run a ridiculously high probability of being deceived.
1 John 4: 1 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. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 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.
And in regards to the third instance of bless in the creation story;
Genesis 2: 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Thus it’s simple to say that God FAVORED the seventh day and thus sanctified it to be a memorial to all His creation forever so that we, the human population with our amnesic memories, don’t forget that we are all here, not by some cosmic accident, but by the will of God. I’ll be covering the Sabbath in another blog series and the OT law in general as not to diverse from our study.
So how does all this now refer to our study of the book of Revelation?
Firstly, the Revelation is the only book of the bible that promises special blessings to the person that reads it. So, with that being said, lets read it…
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
I don’t know about you, but I personally find it fascinating that God promises me, the reader a favor and specific understanding just by simply reading the most controversial book not just in the bible, but perhaps EVER written.
But let’s break down the third verse to see what information we can extract:
The blessing is to
to attend to carefully, take care of
to guard
metaph. to keep, one in the state in which he is
to observe
to reserve: to undergo something
τηρέω tēréō, tay-reh'-o; from τερός terós (a watch; perhaps akin to G2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from G5442, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from G2892, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), i.e. to note (a prophecy; figuratively, to fulfil a command); by implication, to detain (in custody; figuratively, to maintain); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried):—hold fast, keep(- er), (pre-, re-)serve, watch.
The plural is of course to many different people, but also to the HEARER, It’s an individual message. To YOU!
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